Jessica Ross and Treveon Taylor Sr., whose baby was decapitated during delivery at a Georgia hospital in July 2023, were awarded a multimillion-dollar settlement against Dr. Jackson Gates, the pathologist who performed the infant’s autopsy and shared video footage of it online.
A grand jury awarded the Georgia couple $2.25 million in damages Wednesday, WVLT reported.
How did the couple’s baby die during childbirth?
Ross initially filed the lawsuit in September 2023 in Clayton County against the Southern Regional Medical Center and its staff members. At the time, she and her boyfriend claimed the medical center tried to cover up how their son, Treveon Isaiah Taylor Jr., died in the center’s care, Blavity reported.
According to the couple’s attorneys, then-20-year-old Jessica Ross was delivering a full-term baby boy when complications arose, and the infant later died. When the couple asked to see and hold their child, hospital staff allegedly denied their request, raising suspicions about the medical center’s handling of the birth.
The suit also stated that shoulder dystocia occurred during the delivery, which is when the baby’s shoulder becomes stuck behind the mother’s pelvic bone during childbirth, preventing delivery with standard techniques and requiring additional medical maneuvers, according to the National Library of Medicine.
Ross’ then-physician, Dr. Tracey St. Julian, is listed as a defendant in the suit and accused of “negligently” applying “excessive traction” and failing to follow proper medical practices.
Gates performed a private autopsy on the couple’s son
After some time, the hospital allowed the couple to view the deceased child, who was wrapped tightly in a blanket with his head propped in a way in which they could not tell it was decapitated, according to the family’s spokesperson, per Blavity.
The couple later hired Gates to perform a private autopsy on their infant son, but he uploaded graphic footage of the autopsy to his Instagram account without their permission. According to the lawsuit, Gates’ actions amounted to an invasion of privacy and caused emotional distress to Ross and Taylor, WVLT reported.
Last year, Gates told WANF that he did not identify the baby in the past and that the shared footage was for educational purposes.
“I understand the law. Not to divulge patients’ private confidentiality, any information, including the deceased. So if you notice, I routinely post images to teach the public and inform the public of some of the barbarism going on in medicine,” Gates told the outlet.
‘This young couple trusted him with the remains of their precious baby’
On Wednesday, the couple’s attorney’s shared a statement after the jury’s ruling: “While we are pleased that a jury punished Dr. Jackson Gates for his reprehensible behavior, nothing can ease the pain that the parents, Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor Sr., have experienced in losing their baby boy in such a horrific way,” WVLT reported.
The attorneys continued, “After the decapitation of their baby, Gates poured salt into the couple’s already deep wounds when he betrayed them. This young couple trusted him with the remains of their precious baby. Gates, in turn, repaid this trust by posting horrific images of their child for the world to see.”
They also stated that the jury sent a “powerful message that doctors must always consider the feelings of their patients and in this case their clients.”