Florida Hospital Steals Black Couple Baby’s Organs

In Orlando, Florida, a couple is trying to get answers about the hospital that stole their baby’s organs.

The lawsuit says the baby was born on Feb. 25 and died three days later. The couple filed the suit in July and said they were “physically and mentally suffering” because they could not find their son’s body.

Kathryn and Travis Wilson say their newborn son Jacob was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center for an autopsy. Then, according to the lawsuit, his body was transported by Metro Mortuary Transport and returned to St. Joseph’s hospital in Tampa.

When the body was delivered back to the hospital, it was wrapped in blankets and a body bag. It was then placed on a stretcher and sent to the morgue. The lawsuit claims the hospital did not notify the family when they took Jacob’s body out of the autopsy.

Why did this happen?

The Jacqueses had signed forms stating they were aware of Florida’s state-sponsored Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association, or NICA. But they had never read them, and the law robbed them of their right to sue their doctor or the hospital for negligence, they said.

They were told they had to file a complaint with the Florida Department of Health, which investigates malpractice allegations. But the state records are sealed, and the Jacqueses cannot see them.

After the Jacqueses filed their complaint, they were told the investigation was dismissed and that there was no evidence their doctor violated the profession’s standard of care. The Jacqueses were also told they could not appeal the decision, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Ruth Jacques said she was angry and hurt. She was also devastated, she said, by the way Lopez, her obstetrician, treated her. She felt like she was being lied to by Lopez, who she believed was the man responsible for her son’s death.

She wanted to find out more about why she was being lied to and what she could do about it. She wrote to lawmakers and to trial lawyers who represent victims like her.

Her email was long and detailed. It covered seven pages, she said, and outlined Reggie’s birth and death.

She hopes that Lopez and the doctors at Winnie Palmer Hospital will be held accountable for what happened to Reggie, and that they will remember him and honor him. She wants to make sure other parents don’t have to go through what she did.