The birth of Susan Anne Catherine Torres made medical history less than three years ago, when she was delivered by a brain-dead mother who was kept on life support to sustain the pregnancy.

Now a malpractice lawsuit has been filed in Alexandria federal court against one of the mother's doctors. It raises legal questions about how far a doctor's obligations and liabilities in treating a pregnant woman extend to an unborn fetus.

Jason Torres is the father of Susan Anne and husband of Susan Michelle Torres. He is seeking $15 million in damages against emergency-room physician Walter Dixon, who treated his wife in 2005 at Inova Alexandria Hospital.

The lawsuit holds Dixon responsible not only for the mother's death, but also the death of the baby, who lived only five weeks.

The trial is scheduled for September.