A Georgia couple whose baby was decapacitated during childbirth was awarded a $2.25 million verdict after their pathologist posted graphic autopsy videos on social media without their consent.
Dr. Jackson Gates and his Atlanta-based business will have to fork over the large sum to Jessica Ross and Traveon Taylor Sr. after a Fulton County jury found him liable of emotional distress, invasion of privacy, and fraud on Wednesday.
“This young couple trusted him with the remains of their precious baby,” attorney’s for the grieving parents said, noting that the doctor “poured salt into the couple’s already deep wounds.”
“Gates, in turn, repaid this trust by posting horrific images of their child for the world to see.”
The heartbroken couple hired the twisted doctor to perform an autopsy on their deceased newborn two days after their obstetrician allegedly applied excessive force to the baby’s neck when its shoulders became stuck in Ross’s pelvic area, causing it to detach during the traumatic July 2023 delivery.
The baby’s head was delivered vaginally, but the rest of the body was removed via C-section. The death was later ruled a homicide.
Gates posted numerous videos and photos to his Instagram later that month, showing the grisly postmortem examination of their infants “decapitated, severed head,” the couple said in their lawsuit.
The deranged pathologist initially removed the footage after receiving a letter from the couple’s attorney — but later reposted them, according to the lawsuit.
Gates’ attorney, Ira Livant, said his client typically documents his autopsy’s on social media to educate fellow pathologists and highlight the importance of independent examinations in cases where families suspect medical misconduct.
“Dr. Gates testified that he is deeply sorry for any harm that he unintentionally caused the plaintiffs,” Livant said Saturday.
“Had he known for one second that they would see that and that they would know it was their child, he would never have done it.”
The couple will receive $2 million in compensatory damages and an additional $250,000 in punitive damages from Gates and his company, Medical Diagnostics Choices, per the judgement.
The bereaved parents have separate lawsuits pending against the delivering doctor and the Riverdale hospital where the horrific incident took place.
With Post wires.
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