A Georgia doctor has been found liable in a civil lawsuit filed by a couple who accuse him of posting pictures of their dismembered newborn on Instagram.
According to documents seen by PEOPLE, as well as reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) and Fox 5 Atlanta, Dr. Jackson Gates and his company Medical Diagnostic Choices (MDC) have been found liable for intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and fraud in a civil lawsuit filed by Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor, Sr.
As PEOPLE previously reported, the couple filed a civil lawsuit in September 2023 after claiming Dr. Gates intentionally posted pictures of their deceased child on Instagram without permission. He was hired to perform an autopsy on a child who died while Ross was in labor.
According to court documents, Dr. Gates and MDC have not filed responses to Ross and Taylor’s lawsuit and must pay damages.
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“They are happy with the result, however, there is still no real joy or celebration with this outcome,” the couple’s lawyer told AJC. “They were taken advantage of, not only by the hospital, but they were abused again by Dr. Gates, and it was hard for them.”
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Gates did not respond to the news outlet’s request for comment, and his Instagram account is now private.
As PEOPLE also reported, Ross, 20, also filed a separate lawsuit against Southern Regional Medical Center in Clayton County, Georgia, where she gave birth in July 2023.
In that lawsuit, Ross alleged that the staff’s negligence during her child’s birth led to her baby’s head being severed.
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Those documents state that the baby’s shoulders did not descend “due to shoulder dystocia,” which occurs when a baby’s shoulders or shoulder get stuck during a vaginal delivery, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Per CNN, the first lawsuit alleges that the doctor “negligently applied excessive traction” to the baby’s head and the hospital “failed to perform a C-section in a timely and proper manner.”
The documents state that this allegedly led to the “decapitation and death of Treveon Isaiah Taylor Jr.” In January, the coroner for the Clayton County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the baby’s death a homicide.
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Source: HIS Education