A family that has suffered a tragic loss is set to receive $2.25 million after a Georgia judge determined that a pathologist from the Atlanta metro area breached their privacy by sharing autopsy images of their decapitated infant on social media.
On Wednesday, a jury in Fulton County decided that Dr. Jackson Gates and his business, Gates Rapid Diagnostic Laboratory of Atlanta, were responsible for paying the baby’s parents $2 million in compensatory damages and an additional $250,000 as punitive damages—the highest amount permitted by law, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta.
The newborn’s young mother, Jessica Ross, encountered a medical issue called shoulder dystocia during her delivery on July 9, necessitating a hurried Cesarean section.
Attorneys representing the baby’s parents, Jessica Ross and Treveon Taylor Sr., spoke about the case during a news conference. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
“While we are pleased that a jury punished Dr. Jackson Gates for his reprehensible behavior, nothing can ease the pain that the parents… have experienced in losing their baby boy in such a horrific way,” the couple’s attorneys wrote in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Our goal was to ensure that Gates was held accountable for his unconscionable lack of empathy and invasion of our clients’ privacy.”
The Clayton County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the child’s death a homicide earlier this year, according to the report. The case against the hospital and physician who delivered the baby has not yet been tried in court.
Southern Regional Medical Center did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
Gates’ attorneys could not immediately be reached by Fox News Digital for comment.
