Brigham and Women’s Hospital has now been accused of 5 circumstances of improperly disposing of the fetal stays, attorneys said in a listening to in Suffolk Superior Court.
“The plaintiffs, despite the best efforts of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, have discovered that this is not an isolated incident,” stated Patrick Driscoll, lawyer for the plaintiffs, on the listening to. “There are actually five effected families, where their child’s remains were discarded in a 17-month period starting in August of 2020 against their wishes.”
The listening to, presided over by Judge Michael Doolin, stemmed from a lawsuit introduced by the dad and mom of child Everleigh, a 12-day outdated new child who died at Brigham and Women’s in Aug. 6, 2020.
When a funeral residence worker went to gather Everleigh’s physique days after her demise, in keeping with court docket paperwork, morgue employees was unable to positioned her stays. On Aug. 12, hospital investigators discovered by way of video and interviews {that a} pathologist had doubtless discarded the newborn’s physique whereas throwing away linens. Everleigh’s stays have been by no means positioned.
Her dad and mom, Alanna Ross and Daniel McCarthy, filed a lawsuit towards Brigham and Women’s, Mass General Brigham and a protracted record of hospital workers alleging improper handing and disposal of their baby’s stay.
In Thursday’s listening to, the plaintiffs moved to compel the hospital handy over paperwork and request the decide overrule the hospital’s medical privilege-based objections. These strikes, the plaintiffs’ attorneys stated, would uncover proof associated to 4 different circumstances of improper disposal of fetal stays and hospital employees’s information of points within the morgue.
Brigham and Women’s legal professional Allyson Hammerstedt argued Thursday the 4 new circumstances have been “distinguishable” from the unique case.
“Those cases that we are aware of at this point involve voluntary induction termination procedures under 24 weeks, so abortion procedures,” Hammerstedt stated. “In those cases, in order for disposition to happen within the hospital pursuant to hospital policy, a signed release has to happen by the patient, indicating instructions for disposal.”
The hospital shouldn’t be conscious of any of those circumstances, raised within the lawsuit or in any other case, the defendants’ legal professional stated, during which there was not a signed launch.
The hospital has additionally correctly complied with all orders handy over proof, Hammerstedt argued, some extent which the edges went backwards and forwards over on the listening to.
Defendants’ attorneys declined to remark following the listening to.
Letters submitted within the case paperwork define three tales of the opposite households who by no means obtained their youngsters’s stays from the hospital for the reason that child Everleigh case was introduced. Each describe dad and mom’ emotional selections to abort pregnancies primarily based on medical problems, conflicting or unclear messaging from the hospital, and acknowledged errors relating to the disposal of the stays of their youngsters — recognized as Oliver, Katherine and Kaylee.
“Regardless of what the judge decides here, there’s four other families that need to have accountability,” stated lawyer for the plaintiffs Gregory Henning. “There’s four other families that need answers about what happened to their children.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”