A couple who sued a gynecologist for allegedly decapitating their baby during birth have filed suit against a second doctor – an independent pathologist who allegedly posted graphic images of the child’s autopsy after the fact.
The lawsuit, filed this month in Georgia, names Dr. Jackson Gates as a defendant, adding to a lawsuit filed last July against Southern Regional Medical Center and gynecologist Dr. Tracey St. Julian, who delivered her child, was filed.
That lawsuit accused the obstetrician of failing to follow emergency protocols during the July 9 delivery when the boy’s shoulders became stuck in 20-year-old Jessica Ross’s birth canal.
While 20-year-old father Treveon Isaiah Taylor watched, Dr. St. Julian spent hours treating the child vaginally before opting for a cesarean section instead.
Shortly thereafter, the baby’s body and legs were removed via cesarean section, while his severed head was delivered vaginally. The baby, named Isaiah, did not survive.
Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor Sr. – seen here at a news conference in Atlanta last month – sued a gynecologist for allegedly decapitating their baby during delivery in July, and are now suing another doctor who they claim did he subsequently posted pictures of the infant’s autopsy
The lawsuit, filed this month in Georgia, names Dr. Jackson Gates as the defendant, accusing the pathologist of taking $2,500 for the autopsy before posting identifying videos and photos on Instagram. Gates – who regularly posts online – defended himself in a series of deleted videos
The first lawsuit alleges that Julian used excessive force to cut off the child’s head, while the second lawsuit accuses Gates of taking $2,500 for the autopsy before posting identifying videos and photos on Instagram has.
“After all the abuse this young couple suffered, Dr. Gates “unfortunately perpetuated this abuse by posting both photos and videos of her beheaded child on social media,” said family attorney Rod Edmond FOX 5 Atlanta.
He and other representatives of the couple then condemned the doctor’s alleged actions, claiming he had exploited the strange circumstances of the tragedy by posting to his 11,000 followers without his client’s permission.
Gates – who regularly posts videos of his work for public health causes – was recruited to do the independent autopsy by the couple, who paid him $2,500 in the hope of getting to the bottom of the child’s death.
The next day, July 14, the couple woke up to Gates recording videos of the baby’s autopsy and then posting them on his public account for the world to see.
The lawsuit states: “This video graphically and in gruesome detail showed an autopsy of the decapitated, severed head of Baby Isaiah.”
It goes on to claim that after removing the clip, Gates posted two more videos of the baby’s autopsy exactly a week later – one that graphically depicted the baby’s head, body, brain and even organs.
The couple, who faced feelings of “shock, anger, humiliation and indignation,” claim to have sent Gates a cease-and-desist letter on August 10, telling him to take them down.
It was not clear from the contents of the second lawsuit when or if that media was removed – but Gates this week defended his actions on social media in a series of videos that have since been removed; Jackson’s Instagram is currently private.
“After all the abuse this young couple endured, Dr. “Gates unfortunately perpetuated this abuse by posting both photos and videos of her beheaded child on social media,” said family attorney Rod Edmond (seen at left). FOX 5 Atlanta this week
Dr. Tracey St Julian (pictured) is accused of delaying a caesarean section procedure and failing to seek help quickly. Instead, she used “ridiculously excessive force” on the baby’s head and neck to deliver him while Ross was still awake
In one of the posts, the pathologist strongly insists to his followers that he will never reveal the names of his patients.
“I want you to hear this clearly. “I will never reveal the identity of any patient, living or deceased, who comes for my treatment,” says Dr. Gates in a recording of the now-deleted clip.
In the couple’s first lawsuit, they both claim they only learned their baby had been decapitated four days after the tragedy, on July 13, after being informed by a funeral home.
Furthermore, it is alleged that Dr. St. Julian, the hospital and other staff concealed the cause because they knew they had not followed proper procedures when they noticed the baby’s shoulders were trapped.
It is also alleged that Dr. St. Julian did not tell Ross and her family about the beheading when she spoke to them around 5 a.m. on July 10.
The grieving couple accuse the hospital of trying to cover up the incident by discouraging them from an autopsy and encouraging them to have their son cremated.
“They were so excited about the birth of their first child,” said attorney Cory Lynch. “Unfortunately, their dreams and hopes turned into a nightmare that was covered up by Southern Regional Medical Center.”
The lawsuit seeks compensation from Ross and Taylor for the suffering and death of their little boy, as well as for the “enormous mental and physical anguish and trauma” Ross suffered.
The second lawsuit, meanwhile, accuses Gates of invasion of privacy and fraud and seeks unspecified financial damages.
Her lawyers terminated the lawsuit against Dr. Tracey St. Julian and Southern Regional Medical Center, a hospital in Riverdale, Georgia, where Ross went on July 9 to give birth to her son. Riverdale is about 13 miles south of Atlanta
The couple’s lawyers said of Gates’ alleged actions: “This is one of the most egregious and outrageous cases of ‘influence hunting’ we have ever seen.”
‘DR. “Jackson Gates attempted to exploit our clients’ terrible loss to boost his own social media profile, without the family’s permission.”
The lawsuit added: “After Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor Jr. suffered one of the most heartbreaking losses a family could ever endure, salt was poured into their unfathomable emotional wounds when they discovered the video of their baby’s very graphic medical exam .’ published by the very doctor they had hired to perform the autopsy.’
Both lawsuits are currently pending.
