Lawsuit blames religious group for woman’s death after stillbirth
A Kingsville woman’s parents want a jury to hold her partner and his religious group responsible for letting her die without medical help after unlicensed midwives allegedly cut her with dirty scissors to deliver a breech baby.
The horror of Misty Mansfield’s labor and then death 31 days later in 2007 are unfolding in a Jackson county civil trial that began last week and could go to the jury as early as Wednesday.
In the middle of the trial, one of the midwives, Wendi Nield of Blue Springs, agreed Thursday to settle the case for $300,000 but she denies liability, according to court records.
Darrell and Gail Mansfield filed the wrongful lawsuit in 2009 on behalf of their daughter and grandchild Sydney Mansfield, who was stillborn after at least four days of labor.
Defendants include Caleb Horner, a former Lee’s Summit police officer, who assisted in the botched delivery. The lawsuit says he and Mansfield had a religious wedding ceremony but were never legally married, and court documents use her maiden name.
Testimony and evidence in the wrongful death case allege that Mansfield was caught up in a religious group that prohibits medical care, instead relying on God to heal.
The Mansfields’ attorney, Daniel Thomas of the Humphrey, Farrington & McClain law firm, declined to comment this weekend while the trial is ongoing.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/12/16/3968963/lawsuit-blames-religious-group.html#storylink=cpy
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