Monica Thompson has filed an $8.6 million lawsuit against an Oregon hospital, blaming the facility for her baby's smothering death in 2012.
Thompson accidentally smothered her 4-day-old child at Portland Adventist Medical Center, on Aug. 6, 2012, The Oregonian reported.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, claims that the hospital is to blame for the death because it placed the newborn, Jacob, in the bed with Thompson in the middle of the night so she could breastfeed.
Thompson says she was unsupervised and "heavily medicated with painkillers and sleep aids," according to The Oregonian.
Thompson found her child not breathing when she woke up, the lawsuit states. The boy suffered catastrophic brain damage and was removed from life support six days later after doctors told the parents his comatose state was irreversible, according to the lawsuit.
"Jacob suffocated under his mother while she was under the influence of narcotic and sleep aids," the lawsuit reads, according to People magazine. "His inability to breath [sic] caused desperation and anxiety. His breathing eventually stopped. His pulse was weak or absent."
Portland Adventist Medical Center issued a short statement to People, saying that it is "reviewing the claim" and could not provide any additional comments.
"This was a tragic event and our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the family," the medical center said in the statement. "Adventist Medical Center is committed to providing quality, compassionate care to all of our patients."
People wrote that the Jacob Thompson was born after Monica and Graham Thompson battled infertility for 12 years.
"They are hoping this lawsuit gives them closure," Diego Conde, the family's attorney, told People. "But their biggest hope is that other hospitals don't do this and it can set clear policies for their nurses to avoid something as senseless as dropping off a child for breastfeeding to a mom loaded with narcotics and painkillers."
Kristi Spurgeon Johnson, a spokeswoman for Portland Adventist Medical Center, declined to address the hospital's policies about newborns sharing beds with mothers.
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