ATLANTA — A Fulton County judge has found a doctor and his office liable in a lawsuit after a Clayton County mother and father sued him for posting photos of their newborn who was decapitated during childbirth.
The medical examiner’s office ruled the child’s death as a homicide last month.
Parents Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor Sr. said they hired Dr. Jackson Gates to perform a private autopsy on the child and is accused of posting graphic videos of their son’s postmortem examination on his Instagram account.
Gates maintained that he posted the videos for educational purposes.
A Fulton County judge ruled that Gates and his company are liable for intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and fraud. The judge will decide at a later date how much money Gates and his business must pay Ross and Taylor in damages.
In August, the couple filed a lawsuit against their OBGYN, Dr. Tracey St. Julian, and the Southern Regional Medical Center regarding allegations that St. Julian and medical staff lied to the couple about the decapitation.
According to a lawsuit filed by the family, the baby became stuck about 10 hours into Ross’ labor and was eventually decapitated when the family’s doctor attempted for hours to pull him out.
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The lawsuit claims doctors “pulled on the baby’s head and neck so hard and manipulated them so hard, that the bones in the baby’s skull, head and neck were broken.”
Days later, the family’s attorneys said they were notified by a family member that Gates posted an image of the newborn’s decapitated head to his Instagram page.
Attorney Roderick Edmond told Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln that a cease and desist was issued.
The lawsuit states Gates did take the original post down.
However, days later, two more videos from the newborn’s autopsy were published to his Instagram page that included “the autopsy of the chest cavity of the child and the cranial cavity of the child,” attorney Cory Lynch said.
Wednesday’s judgment was issued after Gates failed to respond to the civil complaint by Ross and Taylor, records show.
We have reached out to the baby’s family and their attorney for a statement about the judgment.
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