When Emerald Giles-Perkins held her newborn son for the first time, she knew it would also be the last time. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe took his last breath in my arms,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Giles-Perkins and her husband, Darryl Perkins, of Addison, are suing Methodist Dallas Medical Center and OB-GYN Dr. Theresa Patton over their son\u2019s death. In the lawsuit, filed in Dallas County District Court, the couple alleges medical staff provided improper treatment during childbirth and ultimately left their son with fatal head injuries.<\/p>\n
The baby, named Prime, died one day after he was born in April 2024.<\/p>\n
Methodist Health System spokesperson Ryan Owens wrote in an email that the system \u201chas a longstanding policy of not commenting on pending litigation.\u201d Patton wrote in an email that she can\u2019t discuss specific patients because of privacy laws. <\/p>\n
\u201cI will simply say that I am committed to providing the highest quality medical care possible to my patients,\u201d Patton wrote.<\/p>\n
The Perkins say they disagree.<\/p>\n
Emerald Giles-Perkins and her husband Darryl Perkins pose with their two-month-old daughter at their attorney\u2019s office in Dallas on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. The couple is suing Methodist Dallas Medical Center and OB-GYN Dr. Theresa Patton over the 2024 death of their newborn son, Prime.(Juan Figueroa \/ Staff Photographer)<\/span><\/p>\n Giles-Perkins\u2019 pregnancy had been uncomplicated, the couple said in an interview, but the delivery was difficult.<\/p>\n Hours after her water broke, Giles-Perkins\u2019 labor seemed to stall out. To assist the delivery, Patton used a vacuum device, which involves attaching a suction cup to the baby\u2019s head. The tool pulls the baby while the mother pushes.<\/p>\n Patton used the vacuum extractor at least four times, according to the lawsuit, but Prime still wasn\u2019t delivered.<\/p>\n Giles-Perkins was eventually given a C-section and, when Prime was finally delivered, she initially thought everything was OK.<\/p>\n Over the next 24 hours or so, according to both the lawsuit and an interview, the couple lived a nightmare. <\/p>\n In intensive care, baby Prime seemed to be rapidly deteriorating. As the baby got sicker, hospital staff told the couple that he was sick with an infection he\u2019d caught from Giles-Perkins.<\/p>\n Then, it became clear the baby would not survive.<\/p>\n Perkins remembers when his wife was wheeled to the NICU to see their son for the last time. She was wailing, Perkins said, and the sound is etched in his brain.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt like, \u2018God just take me, let him live,\u2019\u201d Perkins said.<\/p>\n After their son died, the couple decided to have an independent autopsy. They suspected their son\u2019s death wasn\u2019t due to an infection, they said.<\/p>\n The independent autopsy report, from Mesquite-based American Forensics, validated their suspicions. The pathologist wrote in the report that Prime had brain hemorrhages and, in her opinion, \u201cdied as a result of complications of childbirth with failed vacuum-assisted delivery.\u201d<\/p>\n Geoff Henley, the couple\u2019s attorney, said the Perkins are entitled to financial repayment for the death of their son and the pain they\u2019ve lived through. He also hopes the suit will prompt Patton to stop practicing medicine. <\/p>\n \u201cEmerald Giles said \u2018hello\u2019 and \u2018goodbye\u2019 to her son in the same breath,\u201d Henley said. \u201cThey need to be made whole.\u201d<\/p>\n The Texas Medical Board\u2019s online database does not list any actions or investigations against Patton.<\/p>\n The lawsuit, filed on May 29, is in its early stages. Court records as of Wednesday afternoon did not show any response from Patton or Methodist Health.<\/p>\n The case of Prime\u2019s death is a tragic reminder of the importance of proper medical care during childbirth. The Perkins family\u2019s experience is a devastating example of what can go wrong when medical staff fail to provide adequate treatment.<\/p>\n Q: What happened to the newborn son of Emerald Giles-Perkins and Darryl Perkins?<\/p>\n A: The baby, named Prime, died one day after he was born in April 2024 due to complications of childbirth with failed vacuum-assisted delivery.<\/p>\n Q: Who are the defendants in the lawsuit filed by the Perkins family?<\/p>\n A: The defendants are Methodist Dallas Medical Center and OB-GYN Dr. Theresa Patton.<\/p>\n Q: What is the Perkins family seeking in their lawsuit?<\/p>\n A: The family is seeking financial repayment for the death of their son and the pain they\u2019ve lived through, as well as hoping to prompt Dr. Patton to stop practicing medicine.<\/p>\n Q: What is the current status of the lawsuit?<\/p>\n A: The lawsuit is in its early stages, and court records do not show any response from Dr. Patton or Methodist Health as of Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Family’s Tragedy: The Death of a Newborn Son When Emerald Giles-Perkins held her newborn son for the first time, she knew it would also be the last time. \u201cHe took his last breath in my arms,\u201d she said. Giles-Perkins and her husband, Darryl Perkins, of Addison, are suing Methodist Dallas Medical Center and OB-GYN […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":7388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7387","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-wellness"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/XA7AYYTW4JH23ATVAEP7FM4T4Q.jpg?auth=7fcfe868f16152d9713d6578862de0ee114f5b980937163548458682f03be30d&height=630&width=1200&smart=true&quality=80","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7387"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7387"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7389,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7387\/revisions\/7389"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Difficult Delivery<\/h3>\n
The Nightmare Unfolds<\/h4>\n
Seeking Answers and Justice<\/h5>\n
Conclusion<\/h6>\n
FAQs<\/h6>\n