March 19, 2024
A doctor in Georgia was sued for posting footage of a deceased baby autopsy to social media by its parents.
A Georgia doctor will pay damages to the parents of a deceased baby whose autopsy was posted to social media.
In September 2023, Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor, Sr. filed a civil suit on behalf of “Baby Isaiah.” After not responding to the filing, Dr. Jackson Gates was found liable in court for posting the deceased child. The infant died during delivery in July 2023.
The parents drafted a contract with Gates, paying him $2,500 to conduct an independent autopsy on the infant. However, the agreement did not grant Dr. Gates permission to release content from the procedure to social media. According to the complaint, Gates posted a video on July 14 “in graphic and grisly detail a postmortem examination of the decapitated, severed head of Baby Isaiah.”
However, Gates told NBC News that he did not violate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). He stated that his belief that foul play led to Baby Isaiah’s passing excuses his action. HIPAA protects patients and medical information by ensuring confidentiality from medical providers.
“The HIPAA clause states that as a physician, I am within my capability of letting the public know when there’s a safety issue in healthcare, this baby was murdered,” the doctor shared. “I have not violated HIPAA. It is not required by a physician to get consent to report a crime or some sort of health issue to the public. I’ve been doing this for 15 years, publishing my autopsy cases to explain to the public the victimization of those persons who have died.”
The Clayton County Medical Examiner’s Office in Georgia also ruled the child’s death as a homicide. The agency stated the death occurred from a fracture of cervical vertebrae in its spine by another human. The parents filed another lawsuit against the hospital and doctor who delivered the baby. However, the hospital where the child was delivered claims the death occurred in utero.
As for Gates, a bench trial is underway to decide how much damages are owed to the family.
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