Photo by blacknews.com
LaChunda Hunter, an African American woman from Charlotte, North Carolina, says her trust in the medical system collapsed after hospital staff gave her mixed messages about the fate of her newborn daughter. What began as a hopeful pregnancy ended in a legal fight over what really happened inside a neonatal unit.
After years of believing she could not have children, Hunter became pregnant in September 2021. Doctors later identified high blood pressure risks, and on February 13, 2022, she delivered a baby girl by C-section at Novant Presbyterian Medical Center. She named her daughter Legacy.
Hunter was released from the hospital a few days later, but Legacy stayed behind for special care. According to Hunter, staff repeatedly told her not to worry. At one point, she was reassured that her baby was improving. “She was thriving, they thought the worst, but she did well,” Hunter said.
On February 19, Hunter visited the hospital again and heard more encouraging news. She was told the baby was reacting well to medication. Hours later, that message changed without warning. A phone call that night informed her that Legacy had died.
When Hunter returned to the hospital the next day, she says the experience only deepened her fear. She was taken into a small, dark room and shown a baby wrapped tightly in blankets. “They brought me a baby wrapped in a whole bunch of blankets. I don’t know what the baby looked like because it was so dark,” she said.
As she began planning a funeral, another call came—this time with a completely different message. A doctor, Dr. Jay Kothadia, contacted her with what he described as good news about her baby’s test results. The call ended suddenly after confusion broke out over the claim that the baby had already been declared dead.
Later, Hunter says she was told the doctor had reviewed records belonging to another child and that a phone number error caused the mistake.
According to her details did not match. The baby she was shown, she claims, did not look like the child described in medical notes. “This baby doesn’t even look the same as my daughter. My daughter had clear marks on her forehead from skin and bruising. This baby does not have any marks, no sores anything,” she said.
DNA testing only added to the uncertainty. One private test before the burial gave no clear result. A later test arranged by the hospital claimed the baby was hers, but Hunter says she never gave a DNA sample.
“Every milestone that mothers get to experience, I have missed,” Hunter said. “She is the only child I would have physically had and I just want my daughter. I just want to know what happened.” Hunter said.
Hunter is now suing Novant Health hospital of negligence and causing emotional and financial harm. She also says she never received a full explanation of her daughter’s care or death. The hospital has said it takes such matters seriously but cannot discuss details because of patient privacy laws.