A couple who sued a gynecologist for allegedly decapitating their baby during childbirth have filed suit against a second doctor — an independent pathologist they say released graphic images of the infant’s autopsy after the fact.
Filed in Georgia this month, the suit names Dr. Jackson Gates as a defendant and adds to one filed last July against Southern Regional Medical Center and the OB-GYN who delivered their baby, Dr. Tracey St. Julian.
That suit accused the obstetrician of failing to follow emergency protocols during the July 9 delivery, when the baby boy’s shoulders became stuck in 20-year-old Jessica Ross’s birth canal.
As her father, 20-year-old Treveon Isaiah Taylor, was forced to watch, Dr. St. Julian continued to try to tempt the child vaginally for hours, before deciding to opt for a cesarean section.
Shortly after, the baby’s body and legs were removed by cesarean section, while her severed head was delivered vaginally. The baby, named Isaiah, did not survive.
Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor Sr. – seen here at a press conference in Atlanta last month – sued a gynecologist for allegedly decapitating their baby during delivery in July, and are now suing another doctor who, according to them, released images of the infant’s autopsy after the fact.
Filed in Georgia this month, the complaint names Dr. Jackson Gates as a defendant and accuses 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 claims Julian used excessive force that severed the child’s head, while the second accuses Gates of taking $2,500 for the autopsy before posting video and photo IDs on Instagram.
“Unfortunately, after all the abuse this young couple suffered, Dr. Gates continued to perpetuate this abuse, posting photos and videos of their decapitated child on social media,” said the family’s attorney, Rod Edmund. FOX 5 Atlanta.
He and other representatives of the couple denounced the doctor’s alleged actions, saying he took advantage of the strange circumstances surrounding the tragedy by posting messages to his 11,000 followers without his client’s permission.
Gates – who regularly posts videos of his work for public health purposes – was enlisted for the independent autopsy by the couple, who paid him $2,500 in hopes of shedding light on the man’s death. child.
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 claims: “This video showed in graphic and gruesome detail a post-mortem examination of Baby Isaiah’s decapitated and severed head. »
It further alleges that after the clip was deleted, Gates released two more videos of the baby’s autopsy exactly one week later – videos that graphically depicted the baby’s head, body, brain and even organs.
Subjected to feelings of “shock, anger, humiliation and outrage,” the couple say they sent Gates a cease-and-desist letter on August 10, demanding that he withdraw them.
It’s unclear from the content of the second complaint when or if this media was removed – but Gates defended his actions this week on social media, in a series of videos that have since been removed, Jackson’s Instagram currently being private.
“Unfortunately, after all the abuse this young couple suffered, Dr. Gates continued to perpetuate this abuse, posting photos and videos of their decapitated child on social media,” said the family’s attorney, Rod Edmond (left). FOX 5 Atlanta this week
Dr. Tracey St. Julian (pictured) is accused of delaying a C-section procedure and failing to seek help promptly. Instead, she applied “ridiculously excessive force” to the baby’s head and neck in an attempt to deliver him while Ross was still awake.
In one of his messages, the pathologist emphatically insists to his supporters that he would never divulge the names of his patients.
“I want you to hear this clearly, I will never divulge the identity or divulge the identity of any living or deceased patient who comes to treat me,” Dr. Gates said in a recording of the since-deleted clip.
In the couple’s initial lawsuit, both claim they discovered their baby had been decapitated after being informed by a funeral home four days after the tragedy, on July 13.
He also claims that Dr. St. Julian, the hospital and other staff hid the cause because they knew they did not follow proper procedures once they realized the man’s shoulders baby were stuck.
He also claims that Dr. St. Julian did not tell Ross and his family about the beheading when she spoke to them around 5 a.m. on July 10.
The grieving couple accused the hospital of trying to cover up what happened by discouraging them from having an autopsy and encouraging them to have their son cremated.
“They were so excited about the birth of their first child,” attorney Cory Lynch said. “Unfortunately, their dreams and hopes turned into a nightmare that was covered up by Southern Regional Medical Center.”
The suit asks that Ross and Taylor be compensated for the suffering and death of their little boy as well as the “tremendous mental and physical anguish and trauma” experienced by Ross.
The second complaint, meanwhile, accuses Gates of invasion of privacy and fraud, and seeks unspecified financial damages.
Their attorneys announced the lawsuit against Dr. Tracey St. Julian and Southern Regional Medical Center, a hospital in Riverdale, Ga., where Ross went July 9 to deliver 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 ‘pursuit of influence’ we have ever encountered.”
‘Dr. Jackson Gates attempted to exploit our clients’ horrific loss to boost his own social media profile, without the family’s permission.
The lawsuit added: “After suffering one of the most heartbreaking losses a family can ever endure, Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor, Jr. poured salt into their unfathomable emotional wounds when they discovered that the video of the very graphic medical examination of their baby had been made public by the very doctor to whom they entrusted the autopsy.
Both lawsuits are currently pending.
