Parents sue hospital after premature baby’s neck fatally broken: Lawsuit

October 22, 2024

(ORLANDO, Fla.) -- The parents of a newborn who died months after birth are suing a Florida hospital, alleging a worker broke the baby's neck, ultimately killing her, according to the lawsuit.

The infant, Jahxy Peets, was born prematurely at 24 weeks in June 2022 at the Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies, according to the family's lawsuit. Immediately following her birth, she was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit and intubated.

About two weeks later, the baby was found to have a broken neck, according to the lawsuit. The spinal cord injury led to her being paralyzed and unable to breathe on her own, the lawsuit alleges. She died of her injuries in November 2022.

The lawsuit alleges a hospital worker broke Jahxy's neck, injuring her spinal cord, "and then put her back in the incubator without notifying anyone."

"This type of spinal cord injury could not occur without the use of excessive force when handling a newborn," the lawsuit states. "There is no note in the medical record documenting the excessive-force event which caused this traumatic injury, and no indication in the medical record that an investigation was performed to identify and bring to justice the individual who caused this devastating injury."

The injury "was either not recognized or was not reported," making it appear "that an attempt to cover up the cause of Jahxy's injury was made," the lawsuit alleges. Her parents, Gianna Lopera and Jamiah Peets, said they were not informed of the event.

Lopera said at a press conference Monday they "deserve answers" about what happened to Jahxy.

"Every parent whose baby is born at Winnie Palmer deserves to know what happened to Jahxy," Lopera said. "By covering it up, they are leaving room for it to happen again."

Lopera spoke through tears about what the loss of her daughter has meant to her and her family.

"I never got a chance to hear my daughter cry. She never got a chance to meet her siblings or her family. We never celebrated a single milestone. We only held her four times in her entire life," she said.

In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for the hospital said they "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," the spokesperson said.

The parents are asking for a jury trial.

ABC News' Alex Faul contributed to this report.