A Florida couple suffered the loss of their newborn child on June 12, 2022. The mom was only 24 weeks pregnant when she gave birth to their daughter, Jahxy Peets. They soon found out that her daughter's low survival chances were going to be the least of their problems. Allegedly, an Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital worker broke Jahxy's neck and attempted to cover it up. This led to Jahxsy suffering a slow and painful death.
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As soon as their baby girl was born, she was immediately transferred to the intensive care unit. Babies that are born at 24 weeks are fragile and have low survival chances outside the womb, according to SA Health. However, two weeks later, healthcare providers started noticing that baby Jahxy was not moving her limbs. She also presented a bruise on her spine.
"They don't know why she presented this and unfortunately she can't move her hands," said Jahmair Peets, the baby's father, according to Mail Online. "The hospital also said her neck was swollen and the back of her head all of a sudden."
Doctors ran an MRI and found out that Jaxhy's neck had been snapped. Allegedly, someone had used "extreme excessive force" to break Jaxhy's neck, with some doctors claiming that it was not accidental. Moreover, there was no medical note in her record that detailed any injury of the type whatsoever. With her neck snapped, Jahxy wasn't able to live long and died on November 25, 2022.
Seeking Justice
Peets and the baby's mother, Gianna Lopera, filed a lawsuit against the hospital. They claimed that not only did the staff member who broke Jaxhy's neck cover their actions, but that the hospital itself covered the staff member's actions as a whole. Their attorney, Nicole Kruegel, spoke about the case with McClatchy News.
"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 Jahxy's injuries was made," said Kruegel. "As far as the parents know, this person who did this could have done it intentionally, or if they did it accidentally, they did it because they don't know what they're doing, and they're still in that NICU handling babies as far as we know."
The hospital eventually admitted responsibility for Jahxy's death, but the couple rejected this addition. According to Kruegel, accepting this admission would limit the amount of damages the couple could recover. "The thing that really upsets me about this case is the hospital admitting liability and trying to push this case to arbitration," said Kruegel.
Jaxhy's parents are demanding a jury trial and seeking approximately $50,000 in damages for their daughter's death. They will hold a news conference on October 21 outside the hospital to talk about her daughter's case. They aim to find justice and accountability for the alleged cover-up that led to their baby daughter's death.
