Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg
A Georgia couple has now filed a second lawsuit against a medical official in relation to the passing of their newborn son. As The Shade Room previously reported, Jessica Ross, 20, and Treveon Isaiah Taylor Sr., 21, filed an initial lawsuit against Dr. Tracey St. Julian and the Southern Regional Medical Center in August.
The couple accused the parties of decapitating their son during his birth in July and attempting to conceal what happened.
According to HuffPost, the couple’s second lawsuit was filed on Friday, September 1, against pathologist Dr. Jackson Gates. The outlet reports that the couple hired Gates to conduct an independent autopsy on their child. Additionally, Ross and Taylor Sr. paid the doctor $2,500 for the procedure.
According to the outlet, the medical official shared “videos” of the procedure on his “public” Instagram account on July 14. Additionally, the outlet adds that the doctor did not receive consent from the child’s parents.
Furthermore, Gate’s Instagram following consisted of over 11,000 accounts.
“This video showed in graphic and grisly detail a postmortem examination of the decapitated, severed head of Baby Isaiah,” the lawsuit reads, as per HuffPost.
The lawsuit reportedly adds that Gates removed the initial post. However, the doctor then shared “two more” videos of the child’s autopsy on July 21. The videos allegedly “graphically depicted the baby’s head, body, brain and organs.”
The couple then ordered the doctor to remove the posts on August 10.
According to HuffPost, the lawsuit accuses the doctor of “invasion of privacy and fraud.”
Additionally, the couple’s attorneys have shared a joint statement regarding the lawsuit against Gates.
“After suffering one of the most heartbreaking losses any family could ever endure, Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor, [Sr.] had salt poured into their unfathomable emotional wounds when they discovered that video of their baby’s very graphic medical examination had been made public by the very doctor they entrusted to conduct the autopsy,” the statement reads, as per HuffPost.
The couple’s attorneys also referred to the case as “one of the most egregious and outrageous” circumstances “clout chasing” they have “ever encountered.”
“Dr. Jackson Gates attempted to exploit our clients’ horrific loss to boost his own social media profile, without permission of the family,” the attorneys added, as per HuffPost.
Additionally, one of the couple’s attorneys, Cory Lynch, elaborated further to Fox 5 Atlanta.
“Dr. Gates consciously waived his duty to this young couple. He traded his duty to them on exchange for likes and followers on Instagram.”
According to a copy of the lawsuit published by Newsweek, the couple is seeking a trial by jury. Additionally, the suit requests that the couple receive an “excess of $10,000 for damages.”
According to HuffPost, Gates “regularly” shares videos of his work on social media for “educational and public health purposes.” The outlet adds that the doctor took to Instagram after news of the lawsuit surfaced to state that he “would never” share the identity of his patients.
“I want you to hear this clearly, I will never divulge the identity or disclose the identity of any live patients or any deceased patients that come for my care,” Gates told his followers, as per Fox 5 Atlanta.
However, since the article’s publishing on Tuesday, Gates has made his Instagram account private.
HuffPost reports that the doctor also stated that the case is now in the hands of law enforcement, attorneys, and the Georgia Composite Medical Board.
The Shade Room’s Senior Editor, Jadriena Solomon, contacted Dr. Jackson Gates for a statement on Thursday, to which the pathologist responded, “No comment.”
As The Shade Room previously reported, Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor Sr. arrived at Southern Regional Medical Center to deliver their first child on July 9. Ross’s delivery reportedly began around 8:40 p.m. However, her son’s shoulder’s allegedly became “stuck” during the vaginal delivery.
Dr. Tracey St. Julian allegedly delayed Ross’s C-section. Additionally, Julian is accused of not requesting additional assistance. Instead, the doctor reportedly applied “excessive force” on the baby’s head and neck, and she continued the vaginal delivery.
The infant’s boy and legs were reportedly delivered via c-section three hours later. However, the baby’s head was allegedly delivered vaginally.
Additionally, when Ross demanded to hold her child, the officials allegedly handed him to her with his head “propped on top of his body.” Additionally, the medical officials reportedly attempted to conceal the child’s injuries by wrapping him in a blanket.
According to a statement shared with CNN, the couple could not identify that their child had “been decapitated.” Additionally, Ross explained that she and Taylor Sr. had not learned of their child’s injuries until their chosen funeral home informed them.
The couple ultimately decided to opt for an independent autopsy despite the hospital allegedly discouraging them from it.
The couple’s initial lawsuit reportedly states the child would have survived his birth had a c-section been opted for earlier. Additionally, the suit requested the couple be compensated for their “anguish” and “trauma.”
According to Fox 5 Atlanta, the couple is undergoing trauma counseling as both lawsuits remain “pending.”
