Hospital and Specialists Allow Premature Baby to Go Blind While in the Intensive Care Unit
Lake Success - August 6, 2024 (USANews.com) - The Pegalis Law Group announces that it has obtained a multimillion-dollar settlement in a case brought against a New York City hospital and associated ophthalmologists based on the defendants’ negligent failure to properly diagnose or treat a condition known as Retinopathy of Prematurity. As a result of those failures the infant plaintiff – a newborn baby girl – was rendered permanently blind in both eyes.
The baby was born prematurely and was admitted to the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Premature low birth weight infants do not have fully developed retinas at birth. Rather, their retinas continue to develop while they are in the NICU.
Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) is an abnormal development of the retina which, if not properly diagnosed and timely treated in the NICU, can result in partial or total retinal detachment. Premature low birth weight infants are at risk for developing ROP and, if it is not recognized and properly and timely treated, can end up partially or completely blind. That is what happened to this unfortunate child.
The Pegalis Law Group accepted this case, assembled a team of expert witnesses, including a pediatric ophthalmologist who quite literally wrote the national guidelines on how to monitor premature low birth weight infants for ROP and the director of a prestigious school for blind and visually impaired children, and took the case to trial.
Senior partner, Steven Pegalis, contended at trial that the defendants were negligent in that they failed to recognize and act upon ominous findings at the infant’s evaluations in the NICU, failed to correctly diagnose the progress and extent of her disease, and allowed the disease to progress unchecked and render her blind in both eyes. Despite their cynical contention that baby would have gone blind anyway, the defendants agreed to a substantial multimillion dollar settlement which will amply provide for the child’s needs.
This was a tragic case with complicated medical and legal issues, and the Pegalis Law Group is proud of what they achieved for this child and her family.
About Pegalis Law Group Pegalis Law Group, LLC is a New York law firm for those suffering as a result of avoidable medical errors and personal injury. In 50 years of practice, they have won some of the largest verdicts in New York State history and have striven for medical accountability to ensure safer medical practices for better patient care. Learn more about the firm at https://pegalislawgroup.com and on Facebook, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter). Contact: Gary Nielsen Phone: (516) 684-2900 Email: [email protected]