In a shocking revelation, a premature baby who died weeks after birth at a world-renowned hospital in Boston may have been mistakenly thrown away as bed linens.
Everleigh Victoria McCarthy weighed only 2 pounds when she arrived 3 months early at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston on July 25, 2020.
When the baby suffered a brain bleed and was placed on a breathing machine, it appeared that she would not survive.
Alana Ross, 37, and Daniel McCarthy, 38, were devastated and hoped that their baby would survive.
Unfortunately, their daughter died on August 6, 2020, just 12 days after birth, according to family lawyer Greg Henning.
Her heartbroken mom and dad began to plan a funeral service for their daughter until they discovered the devastating news.
When the funeral home notified them that their daughter’s remains were missing, their grieving quickly turned into an unnerving nightmare.
The heartbroken couple attempted to contact the hospital for an explanation, but when they were unable to obtain sufficient information, they notified the Boston Police Department, according to the lawyer.
According to a police report obtained by DailyMail.com, hospital employees stated that they were unable to locate the baby’s remains.
According to the report, police believed that the baby’s body was thrown away after being mistaken for soiled linen.
Ross, who had two previous miscarriages before discovering she was pregnant with Everleigh, was traumatized once more.
Ross and McCarthy filed a lawsuit against Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Suffolk County Superior Court in Boston on Thursday.
Henning, who has been working with the couple for nearly two years, told DailyMail.com that the lawsuit was being filed now because he said, ‘it wasn’t going to be resolved any other way.’
‘Alana and Daniel have been dealing with a lot of trauma and stress with this and we determined now is the appropriate time to file the suit,’ he said.
Henning confirmed to DailyMail.com, referring to a 50-page complaint that there is no monetary amount sought.
‘My clients look forward to the opportunity to speak to a jury and tell them what happened to Everleigh,’ he said.
Sunil Eappen, Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s chief medical officer, issued a statement on Friday expressing condolences but unable to provide additional information.
‘We continue to express our deepest sympathies and most sincere apologies to the Ross and McCarthy family for their loss and the heartbreaking circumstances surrounding it,’ Eappen said.
‘As with any instance in which there is a concern raised related to our standard of care or practice, we readily and transparently shared the details with the patient’s family.
‘We always evaluate both system and human factors that contribute to errors or potential issues raised by patients, family members or staff and take action.’
According to The New York Times, the hospital pathologist also stated that no dirtied linens were removed the day Everleigh’s body was brought there.
The pathologist eventually admitted to seeing linens on a stainless-steel tray, according to the police file. He claimed to have disposed of them in a soiled materials sack.
The linens were collected by a cleaning service with an on-site compactor, according to authorities.
