CLAYTON COUNTY, GEORGIA: A couple from Georgia has sued Dr Jackson Gates, a pathologist, alleging he posted pictures of their baby after the child was decapitated during birth by their OB-GYN.
The couple, Jessica Ross, 20, and Treveon Isaiah Taylor Sr, 21, had hired Dr Gates to perform an independent autopsy on their child.
However, they now accused him of breaching their trust by allegedly posting the procedure on social media without their consent.
Attorneys representing the couple described this incident as "one of the most egregious and outrageous cases of clout chasing we have ever encountered."
This marks the second lawsuit filed by the couple in connection with their baby's tragic death.
How did Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor Sr's baby die?
The couple alleged that OB-GYN Dr Tracey St Julian used excessive force during delivery at Southern Regional Medical Center in July, resulting in their son, Treveon Isaiah Taylor Jr, being decapitated.
Dr Jackson Gates sued for invasion of privacy
The young parents filed the lawsuit against Gates and Gates Rapid Diagnostic Laboratory of Atlanta on September 1, citing invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and fraud among other allegations.
The couple accused Gates of accepting $2,500 to conduct an autopsy on their baby and subsequently posting a full-face picture and videos of the baby's organs on Instagram.
"After all of the abuse suffered by this young couple, unfortunately, Dr Gates continued to perpetuate it, their abuse, by posting both photos and video of their decapitated child on social media, namely Instagram," their attorney Rod Edmond said, per Fox News.
"This is one of the most egregious and outrageous cases of ‘clout chasing’ we have ever encountered," the couple’s attorneys said.
"Dr. Jackson Gates attempted to exploit our clients’ horrific loss to boost his own social media profile, without permission of the family," the attorneys added.
"Dr. Gates consciously waived his duty to this young couple. He traded his duty to them on exchange for likes and followers on Instagram," attorney Cory Lynch affirmed.
The attorneys said in a joint statement, "After suffering one of the most heartbreaking losses any family could ever endure, Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor, Jr. had salt poured into their unfathomable emotional wounds when they discovered that video of their baby’s very graphic medical examination had been made public by the very doctor they entrusted to conduct the autopsy."
"This video showed in graphic and grisly detail a postmortem examination of the decapitated, severed head of Baby Isaiah," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit claims that after the initial video was removed, Gates posted two additional videos of the baby's autopsy on July 21.
These videos allegedly contained graphic images of the baby's head, body, brain and organs.
Dr Jackson Gates releases statement
Gates has stated that he was also deeply disturbed by the baby's death, and any content he shared on social media was intended for educational purposes.
"I want you to hear this clearly, I will never divulge the identity or disclose the identity of any live patients or any deceased patients that come for my care," Gates said in a video on his now-deleted Instagram.
