Two families have filed medical malpractice lawsuits accusing Medical City Weatherford and several medical providers of failing to respond to signs of distress during childbirth in 2025. One child survived with permanent brain damage; the other died at 44 days old. The lawsuits, filed Friday in Dallas County, name the hospital, affiliated companies, an obstetrics practice and two obstetricians. They allege failures in labor care and newborn resuscitation, as well as inadequate staff training. Each family is seeking more than $1 million in damages, according to the filings. The families spoke at a news conference in Dallas on Oct. 12, one year after Ryker McKinley was born. Their attorney, Les Weisbrod, said they want to prevent similar harm. Medical City Weatherford, Cook Children’s Health Care System and Unified Women’s Healthcare did not immediately respond to requests for comment that day. Kellie Holloway’s lawsuit says she went to Medical City Weatherford on Sept. 16, 2025, to have labor induced because of high blood pressure. It alleges that fetal heart-rate warning signs appeared around 8:41 p.m., but nurses did not contact her obstetrician, Dr. Krista Lemley, for nearly two and a half hours. Lemley ordered a cesarean section at 11:37 p.m.; Laytan was born at 12:45 a.m., according to the suit. The lawsuit says Laytan was born not breathing and without a pediatrician present, and that a pediatrician arrived about 35 minutes later. He was transferred to Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth for treatment of brain damage attributed to oxygen deprivation. The complaint also alleges errors in his subsequent care there. Laytan, now 1, has cerebral palsy, his father, Brendan Holloway, said. Weisbrod said an evaluation estimated the cost of caring for Laytan over his lifetime at about $24 million. The lawsuit seeks damages from the defendants, who have not publicly responded in the provided information. “It’s our first baby, so we didn’t really know to ask questions of if something was going wrong,” Kellie Holloway said. “They’re nurses, they’re trained for this, so we just took them at their word.” Twenty-five days after Laytan’s birth, Mariah Sales gave birth to Ryker at the same hospital. Her lawsuit alleges staff continued medication to induce labor despite signs of fetal distress and that her obstetrician, Dr. Jennifer Moss, misread Ryker’s heart rate and did not perform a timely cesarean section. Ryker was born Oct. 12, 2025, without a heartbeat and not breathing, according to the lawsuit. It says no pediatrician was present at the birth, one arrived 22 minutes later, and a breathing tube was incorrectly positioned during resuscitation. Ryker was transferred to Cook Children’s with severe brain damage and remained on a ventilator until his parents decided to remove the breathing tube on Nov. 25. He died that day, at 44 days old. The McKinley family’s lawsuit also alleges hospital leaders failed to make changes after Laytan’s birth that could have prevented harm to Ryker. Weisbrod said he was not aware of prior complaints filed with the state and had not researched whether the hospital had faced similar lawsuits. Both families described relying on medical staff during emergencies. Cameron McKinley said he and Sales trusted providers to deliver their baby safely and hoped the case would bring accountability. Sales recalled caring for Ryker during his hospitalization, including changing his diapers and making crafts with him. “We’re just very blessed to have the time that we did with him,” she said.