ORLANDO, Fla. – An Orlando hospital is now facing a lawsuit after allegations arose that staff fatally broke a newborn’s neck and tried to hide the evidence.
The lawsuit, which was filed on Thursday, says that the incident happened in June 2022 at Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies.
According to court records, mother Gianna Lopera gave birth to the child — Jahxy Peets — via a STAT C-section at 24 weeks of gestation.
Afterward, Jahxy was intubated and admitted to the NICU, and there was no evidence of any birth-related trauma, the lawsuit states.
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But around two weeks later, the neurosurgery department was consulted due to a “concern for abnormal tone of her upper extremities,” court records show.
“An MRI of the cervical spine was performed, which showed cord signal abnormality, enlargement and presumed hemorrhage involving portions of the cervical and thoracic cord,” the lawsuit reads. “To put it simply, Jahxy Peet’s neck had been broken.”
The lawsuit claims this type of spinal cord injury couldn’t have happened without the use of excessive force when handling Jahxy, though there was no documentation in her medical records about something like that occurring.
In addition, the lawsuit says that there was no indication in Jahxy’s medical records about an investigation to “identify and bring to justice” whomever may have caused the injury.
“This traumatic event was either not recognized or was not reported, and it appears from the records that an attempt to cover up the cause of Jaxy’s injury was made, as there is no mention of a precipitating event in the medical record,” the lawsuit adds.
As a result of the injury, Jahxy was paralyzed and became unable to breathe on her own, the lawsuit says. She died in November 2022.
Now, her parents are accusing the hospital of medical malpractice resulting in Jahxy’s death.
“Her survivors, Gianna Lopera and Jahmiah Peets, have suffered mental pain and suffering which will continue for the rest of their lives,” the lawsuit says. “They have incurred medical and funeral expense and have suffered the loss of Jahxy Peets’ love and companionship.”
On Monday, Lopera addressed the media regarding the ongoing lawsuit.
“Our heart is broken because we could not protect ourselves from Winnie Palmer hospital, the place where she was supposed to be the safest. If you ever have a child in the hospital, you know how much you rely on doctors and nurses to protect them,” she said. “We deserve answers. Every parent whose baby is born at Winnie Palmer deserves to know what happened to Jahxy.”
When asked for a response, Orlando Health said it does not comment on pending litigation but on Monday released the following statement:
“We will not address specific medical cases publicly but will share that the delivery of care to extremely premature babies is complex and emotional work for parents, doctors, and nurses. We offer our deepest sympathies to this family, and to any family who suffers the loss of a child, but also believe those who provide care in this environment should be judged on facts, not speculation. We look forward to discussing the facts of this case in the appropriate forum.
“Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies is one of America’s premier maternity hospitals that is home to one of the largest and most sophisticated Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU). Physicians and clinicians at Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital provide the highest quality of care to all patients, especially the most vulnerable.”
Orlando Health
The full lawsuit has been attached to this story and can be read by scrolling below:
Gianna l Opera Lawsuit by Anthony Talcott on Scribd