Logo

All she wanted was to bury her baby.

But a New Jersey woman who miscarried at 13 weeks claims a Manhattan hospital discarded the stillborn fetus against her wishes.

The heartbreaking bungle occurred at Mount Sinai Hospital West in January, when a pregnant Pamela Livecchi was told her baby no longer had a heartbeat, according to a Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit.

Livecchi, 40, told Dr. Renuka Paka she wanted genetic testing done to confirm why the fetus had died, according to court papers.

Such testing could only be done, Paka allegedly replied, if the dead fetus was delivered at the hospital, the suit says.

But the next day, Livecchi gave birth to the stillborn baby at home, three days before a scheduled procedure to remove it at the hospital, she said in her legal papers.

Livecchi, of Bloomfield, NJ, immediately brought the body to Mount Sinai West, but the facility allegedly claimed a policy change prevented them from doing genetic testing, and told Livecchi they would hold the remains until they got direction from Paka, she says.

1 of 3
Mount Sinai West Hospital
Mount Sinai West HospitalMatthew McDermott
A sign showing the entrance to Mount Sinai West Hospital in NYC.
A sign showing the entrance to Mount Sinai West Hospital in NYC.Christopher Sadowski
Advertisement

When she returned a few days later to retrieve the remains for burial, hospital staff said the fetus had been discarded, Livecchi charges in her negligence lawsuit.

She’s suing the hospital and Paka for unspecified damages. The hospital did not comment on the allegations. Paka could not be reached.

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy