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Family files suit against Orlando hospital, alleges employee fatally broke baby’s neck

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Published  October 21, 2024 11:24pm EDT
Orange County
FOX 35 Orlando

Lawsuit: Newborn's neck broken by hospital staff

A Florida family has filed a lawsuit against Orlando Health Winnie Palm Hospital for Women & Babies alleging that their premature newsborn was fatally injured by hospital staff and covered up. Jahxy Peets was born early at 24 weeks on June 12, 2022. About two weeks later, staff discovered that the bayb's neck was broken, leaving her paralyzed. She died shortly after. The lawsuit was filed on Oct. 17. Orlando Health said it would not discuss the case publicly, and that it oddfered its sympathy to the family.

ORLANDO, Fla. - The family of Jahxy "Jazzy" Peets claims a healthcare provider within the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies broke the baby’s neck, killing her. 

A lawsuit was filed against the Orlando Health hospital on Friday, claiming it tried to cover it up. Jazzy’s family and their lawyers from the firm Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa addressed the media during a Monday afternoon news conference. 

"Somebody in the NICU broke her neck, and they didn't tell anybody," said Nicole Kruegel who is the lawyer representing the family. 

Jazzy was born at just 24 weeks old in June 2022. The lawsuit claims the worker broke the infant’s neck just two weeks after she was born. 

Tearfully distraught, Gianna Lopera, who is Jazzy’s mother, said, "I never got a chance to hear my daughter cry. She never had a chance to meet her siblings or her family. We never celebrated a single milestone, we only held her four times." 

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According to the lawsuit, baby Jazzy's injuries were so bad that "this type of spinal cord injury could not occur without the use of excessive force when handling a newborn," the lawsuit says. 

The baby’s injuries left her paralyzed and unable to breathe on her own. Jazzy was just 165 days old when she died in November 2022. 

The lawsuit says there was no evidence of "birth-related trauma" when she was born. However, two weeks later MRI results showed the baby’s neck had been broken, the lawsuit says. 

"The type of injury that Jazzy suffered is a mandatory reportable injury to the Department of Children and Families, to the police; every single healthcare provider has a duty to report this," Kruegel said. 

Jahxy "Jazzy" Peets [Credit: Family photo]

Lawyers for the family claim the hospital did not report the full extent of the infant's injury to the family right away. However, they also said the hospital did later admit liability. It is unclear if that same healthcare provider who allegedly broke Jazzy's neck is still working for the hospital and providing care to newborns. 

In a statement sent to FOX 35 News, Orlando Health said, in part:

"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."

"Now we’re scared to even get pregnant because — now [we] don’t know if [our] next baby is going to make it," Lopera said. 

She goes on to say, "[We] don’t know if the next hospital is going to make the same mistake with my second baby." 

Jazzy’s family is seeking at least $50,000 in damages and a jury trial. 

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