I agree K-lo. Anyone that thinks a hospital worker threw a baby out purposely is deranged and should be locked up asap for the good of society. They should go sell crazy somewhere else.

Of course they're going to sue. That'll make it all better-big money, fur coats and a lincoln navigator with hot rims will make everything right (note the sarcasm).

Yes, negligence. But negligence is not deliberate action. It's careless action.

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What a load of crap "accidentally discarded the body" How the hell do you accidentally do that - it has to be a conscious act by someone to dump the body in the trash.

It seems more like negligence and a cover-up in my books.

Hosp fined after discarding stillborn
Thursday, January 29, 2009

By AMY SARA CLARK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Christ Hospital in Jersey City has been fined $20,500 for violating state procedures after hospital staff accidentally discarded the body of a stillborn several weeks ago.

When Bashere Davon Moyd Jr., was stillborn on Dec. 21, his body was placed in the hospital morgue. But when a funeral home employee arrived to pick it up on Jan. 2, it wasn't there. Police determined that the baby's body had been discarded in the trash, officials said.

In a Jan. 20 letter sent to the hospital from the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, officials said a Jan. 9 investigation determined that the hospital failed "to implement its policies and procedures regarding 'Morgue Operations for Bodies and Remains'" and fined the hospital $20,000.

The hospital was fined an additional $500 for waiting two days to report the missing remains to the NJDHSS.

NJDHSS investigators found no evidence the hospital kept a morgue log book, as required by state code. They also found that the morgue was not cleaned for 10 consecutive days - between Dec. 18 and Dec. 29 and between Dec. 30 and at least Jan. 6, according to the letter.

Investigators also found no evidence the morgue conducted required weekly rounds to reconcile the morgue book with patient remains and to check the morgue's cleanliness, according to the letter.

Michael Anise, the Jersey City attorney representing Kalynn Moore, Bashere's mother, called the fine "appropriate" given the "tremendous gross negligence that we saw from the hospital and its staff."

"But we are on a different course," Anise added. "We plan to file a civil complaint in the next ten days to two weeks."

In a written statement, Christ Hospital spokeswoman Barbara Davey emphasized the NJDHSS letter cited "process issues with the hospital morgue, and is not, in any way, related to patient care."

"As is the protocol, Christ Hospital is planning to meet with the state to discuss the matter," she added.

Police determined no crimes had been committed.

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great idea. you do that.

I feel so bad for Ms. Moore. My heart goes out to her and her family.

JCPD has given up on the search for the baby.
(source: Jersey Journal)

I found out a long time ago that there is nothing "Christ" about "Christ Hospital."

I smell cover up, something tells me the doctor may have screwed up and is trying to hide from it. What would cause them to throw out a dead body, seems to me maybe something went wrong and someone figured you get in less trouble if you claim the baby was stillborn and dispose of the body than let people find out what really happened and face real charges.

Someone should look at that doctors track record and see if he/she has had any other mishaps with deliveries. What about the paperwork where did it go, wait let me guess thats missing too.

Something smells rotten in Denmark......

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This is a horrific story and what was probably a tragic accident is getting mired in the issue of whether the baby was stillborn or not, which is irrelevant at this point.

The fact that NJ law considers it "not human" is interesting and I'm wondering if that is the case in most states? Quite often, families will baptize a baby that lives for a short time or even a stillborn baby. At the very least, to FE's point, I would imagine there is certain protocol that is followed.

In any case, may this family find comfort and solace and may their pain not be furthered by the inevitable legal onslaught.

I don't see why the hospital would think it appropriate to dispose of a body, stillborn or not. It is very common for parents of stillborn babies to have memorial services and burial or cremation. This is not the first stillborn they have had to deal with. I'm sure they have a standard procedure to handle this situation which would probably involve a grief counselor who would ascertain the parents wishes and intentions. I can't imagine how a morgue attendant would come to the decision to discard a body. Was it his first day on the job?

I am in shock! Really this happened? Wow, that poor family and that poor baby for having to be put to rest like that. They better find him and give him the proper burial he deserves.

I hope someone buys some baby dolls, removes their clothes and in a sign of protest, dumps one in all the internal trash bins at the hospital.

Another reason to sue for unnecessary suffering to the mother and family. Now-a-days money talks to force change and accountability!

Ugh. Horrible story.

It's showing up in national news now. I don't know what the hospital is thinking re: their PR person. She is NOT helping their position. Maybe they feel the need to respond to the lawyer's public statements, but they look horrible trying to argue with the family.

You threw out their baby's body, folks. Might be a good idea to maintain radio silence, hope the body is found & let the court deal with it- which it will.

And that whole "it was stillborn but we can't prove it because someone took the body out of the morgue & threw it in the garbage" defense is going to have a maximum effective range of zero at the Hudson County Court House, so get ready & keep the stupid statements to a minimum.

I mean, really- "We threw out the baby but hey it was stillborn, sorry to the family". That's what you want to go with?


GWB

WTF, its getting to the stage whereby I need to slap myself each morning and double check what country I am living in.

DEAD BABY TRASHED
Police search for corpse after hospital blunder

Tuesday, January 06, 2009
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Police are searching garbage dumps in New Jersey and Pennsylvania for a tiny body after a baby boy was delivered at Jersey City's Christ Hospital and his corpse was apparently thrown out with trash, officials said.

As police sift through refuse seeking the body of Bashere Davon Moyd Jr., the hospital and the boy's mother are at odds over whether he was stillborn or was born alive and then died after doctors worked to stabilize him for 20 minutes.

"This baby has to be found," said Jersey City attorney Michael Anise, who represents the baby's 26-year-old mother, Kalynn Moore, of Jersey City. "We want to have the child back. My client is absolutely astonished and in dismay. She wants closure. We have to find this baby."

Hospital spokeswoman Barbara Davy argues that the baby was stillborn on Dec. 21 and the body was placed in the hospital morgue. When a funeral home employee arrived to pick it up on Jan. 2, the body wasn't there, according to the family and the hospital.

Davy acknowledged that the hospital should have had the body.

Police got involved and it became evident that the baby's body had been discarded in the trash and the trash was already gone, said Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio.

DeFazio said his office is looking into the matter, but at this point there does not appear to be any criminal intent on the part of the employee who apparently discarded the body. "This has become a search and recovery," he said.

Under New Jersey law, he explained, a stillborn is not considered a person. And since this event took place in the presence of doctors, no autopsy would be performed.

Anise said that when Moore went to the hospital doctors found the baby had a shallow heartbeat so they performed a Cesarean birth and then worked to stabilize the child for 20 minutes before he died.

"They told her, unfortunately, he passed away," Anise said. "At that point the head nurse cleaned up the baby, they dressed him in a hat and blanket, they gave the baby to the mom. The mother spent about a half hour with the baby."

Anise said the baby was then tagged and the blanket he was wrapped in was also tagged before the body was placed in a morgue cooler.

He said Moore's cousin, Nicia Royster, witnessed everything. A memorial service for the baby was scheduled for yesterday.

"It is absolutely untrue that the child was stillborn," Anise said.

But Davy was equally adamant. "Medical records clearly state it was a stillborn and the attorney is certainly welcome to a copy of the record," Davy said.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, and we hope to bring this unfortunate situation to a resolution as soon as possible," Davy said in a statement.

Anise said the most important thing at the moment is finding the infant's body, but noted that a lawsuit on the mother's behalf will be filed.

Whether or not the child was born alive might play a role in determining if damages for pain and suffering on the baby's part can be pursued, sources said.

Last night, Jersey City Police Chief Tom Comey said the Police Department is "presently involved in a comprehensive investigation to recover the infant's remains and return it to the family."

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family during this troubling time for them, and due to the sensitive nature of the investigation we will have no further comments," Comey said.