Few things in life are as amazing or joy inducing as the birth of a new baby. Couples who anxiously wait months, if not years, to bring a tiny new life into the world are often overcome with happiness upon their baby's arrival. When a birth injury or act of medical malpractice occurs, however, a very different scenario can play out.

A horrific instance of medical malpractice occurred during Feb. 2011 when an infant was essentially decapitated at birth. The tragedy occurred when the 21-year-old mother went into labor nearly two months early. The mother had been told by her normal doctor that, because of the size of the baby's abdomen, she would need to deliver the baby via cesarean section.

Upon arriving at the hospital to deliver the baby, the attending physician insisted the woman attempt to deliver the baby vaginally. When the couple requested a transfer to another hospital, they were allegedly denied. As predicted, the baby's abdomen became lodged in the mother's birth canal. Upon trying to deliver the baby, the baby's head became disconnected from the spinal cord.

The mother, father and attending hospital staff all witnessed the unimaginable horror as the delivering doctor attempted to push the baby back into the birth canal. Obviously panicked, the doctor then ordered an emergency C-section at which time she began operating on the mother before she was adequately sedated.

The mother and father are suing the two doctors involved as well as two of the affiliate medical facilities for medical negligence and wrongful death.

Source: Yahoo, "Newborn's Decapitation at Birth Prompts Malpractice Lawsuit," William Browning, Oct. 12, 2012