A Manhattan couple whose premature baby died on the way to Harlem Hospital say staffers compounded the tragedy by treating the infant's body like a circus sideshow, according to a shocking lawsuit.
Keith and Maria Walker were having a normal, healthy pregnancy with their second son when the 38-year-old mom, only 20 weeks pregnant, suddenly went into labor in the middle of the night on Jan. 23.
The couple called 911, but the baby was born before paramedics arrived. The boy lived for mere minutes before dying in the ambulance en route to Harlem Hospital, the Walkers said.
But instead of easing their pain, the hospital made it much worse.
The devastated mom never got to hold her lost child because a staffer quickly took the body, put it in a jar filled with formaldehyde and left it on the counter in front of her, according to Manhattan Supreme Court papers filed last week.
Then nurses, doctors and other employees "paraded" in and out of the room to gawk at the remains, the couple alleges in the suit filed against the city and Harlem Hospital.
"They were making me sound like I was some type of freak," Maria Walker told The Post. "I swear it was like a conga line."
The staffers "repeatedly laughed at, made fun of and criticized the deceased baby. The criticisms included calling the baby a 'freak,' " the couple claims in court documents.
Throughout the ordeal of more than two hours, Keith Walker, 41, – who was not allowed to travel with his wife of 15 years in the ambulance – was kept in the waiting room.
"They wouldn't give me any information," he said.
"That was very hurtful. These people are supposed to be professional."
The couple's lawyer said the hospital made things worse.
"Here we have an amazing family, who just suffered a very big loss in the death of their son, and they get to the hospital, and they compound the problem by . . . treating the baby as if it was some type of show," said attorney John Scola.
Keith Walker, 41, says he's traumatized. "The baby was alive in the palm of my hand, still attached to the umbilical cord. I think of it every day. I try to suppress it, but I really can't," he said.
Maria Walker says the city hospital went against its mission: "Nobody should have to go through that. If you go to the hospital, you're expecting someone to take care of you. That was totally not the case, at all."
The city Law Department said officials will review the allegations.
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