ORLANDO, Fla. — A couple is suing Orlando Health’s Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies, claiming an employee broke their baby’s neck.
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In the lawsuit filed Friday, the family not only claims an employee caused the fatal injury, but they also argue the hospital tried to cover it up.
Gianna Lopera and Jahmiah Peets stood beside their three-year-old daughter Jahxyli outside Orlando Health Monday as she played with stickers and pointed out her favorite ones.
Lopera and Peets hoped they could see the day that Jahxyli could play side-by-side with her younger sister, Jahxy Peets.
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They called her “Jazzy” for short.
She was born on June 12, 2022, more than three months earlier than expected.
“She was loved. She was only one pound, eight ounces… but she was a fighter,” Peets said.
The family says the baby’s health was improving during her first two weeks while in Winnie Palmer’s NICU. That was until suddenly, the baby stopped moving her arms and legs.
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The family’s attorney, Nicole Kruegel, described it as a “slow death.” The lawsuit claims the spinal cord injury led to paralysis and an inability for the baby to breathe on her own.
“I never got a chance to hear my daughter cry,” Lopera said. “We never celebrated a single milestone. We only got to hold her four times.”
The family’s lawyers claim in this lawsuit that a hospital employee used “excessive force” that caused a fatal spinal injury.
“Somebody in the NICU broke her neck, and they didn’t tell anybody. There’s no indication in the medical record that anybody was notified. They just left her in the incubator,” said Attorney Nicole Kruegel, who said they’ve contacted Orlando Health several times, asking how the injury was caused and if it was investigated.
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Kruegel said they’ve received no answers to their questions.
“There has been no accountability. There has been no criminal charges filed, there has been no investigation because it was never reported to the appropriate authorities,” Kruegel said.
Kruegel shared this letter. She says it shows Orlando Health’s attorney starting a process called “voluntary binding arbitration.”
In Florida, when a medical provider starts this process, they, in turn, admit liability.
However, if both sides agree, the process also caps how much the family can receive in damages.
“It would prevent us from litigating the issues of who killed Jazzy and what was done to make sure it doesn’t happen to any other patient,” Kruegel said.
The family’s lawyers say that’s why they, in turn, filed this lawsuit.
Orlando Health didn’t say whether they claimed responsibility. The hospital shared the following statement:
<i>“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.”</i>
— Orlando Health
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