A landmark verdict reached by jury earlier this month in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Rome Division awarded $8 million to Becky and Jay Wise whose 39-week-old daughter was born stillborn in 2018. The six-day trial ended with a record-setting verdict, awarding the largest amount for a wrongful fetal death case in the state of Georgia to date.
“Our hope is that this case is a turning point for mothers, babies, and families to receive the medical care they need and deserve,” said Wise family lead attorney Nelson Tyrone. “Institutions must be held accountable when they do not meet the standards of care and make critical mistakes that put their patients’ lives at risk.”
In their 2020 complaint, the Wise family alleged that their stillborn daughter would have been born alive had medical personnel made the decision to deliver her via cesarean section. On March 4, 2025, a jury determined that midwife Valerie Smith and the Harbin Clinic in Rome, GA were liable for failing to respond to signs that the child was experiencing a lack of oxygen throughout the labor. During the trial, the defendant’s attorneys presented evidence of repeated signs of distress and an ongoing and worsening condition over the course of six hours. As a result of the providers’ neglect and failure, Becky Wise was forced to give birth to a stillborn baby via C-section.
The state of Georgia currently ranks amongst the top 10 states with the highest infant mortality rates (CDC/NCHS, 2022).
