Atlanta, GA — The Georgia parents whose baby was decapitated during birth have been awarded more than $2.25 million in a civil lawsuit against a doctor who shared graphic images from the child’s autopsy online.
Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor Sr. endured the tragic loss of their child on July 19, 2023, during delivery at Southern Regional Medical Center in Atlanta. According to the family, complications during labor caused the baby’s shoulders to become stuck, and efforts by the medical team to extract the infant allegedly resulted in decapitation.
Seeking answers, the grieving parents hired Dr. Jackson Gates to perform an autopsy. However, they later discovered that Gates had recorded the autopsy and posted the footage to Instagram without their consent.
Ross and Taylor filed a lawsuit against Gates, alleging invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and fraud. On Wednesday, a Fulton County jury ruled in their favor, ordering Gates and his laboratory, Gates Rapid Diagnostic Laboratory of Atlanta, to pay $2 million in compensatory damages and $250,000 in punitive damages — the maximum amount allowed.
“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,” the couple’s attorneys said in a statement. “After the decapitation of their baby, Gates poured salt into the couple’s already deep wounds when he betrayed them by posting horrific images of their child for the world to see.”
The infant’s death has been ruled a homicide. Ross and Taylor also have a separate lawsuit pending against Prime Healthcare Services, which operates the hospital, as well as the delivery doctor and nurses. The parents allege excessive force was used during the delivery, followed by a delay in informing them of the true circumstances surrounding their baby’s death.
The legal proceedings related to the hospital and medical staff remain ongoing.
