Can Medical Malpractice Cause Blindness? | Legal FAQ

Brian Salvi:
As it relates to medical malpractice cases that result in the loss of vision, as you can imagine, that is a devastating outcome for anybody that, unfortunately, can present itself in the form of maybe a delay in diagnosis of an infection or ongoing deteriorating process in the eye. It also could be as a result of some sort of mechanical failure by a surgeon or practitioner in and around the face that causes significant or severe damage to one of the eyes or both the eyes. And as you can imagine, the loss of vision for somebody who obviously didn't have an expectation of losing that vision can have devastating outcomes, not only in a person's ability to enjoy life, but also in their just ability to function, their ability to go about their day, their ability to survive without the help of someone else. Blindness as a result of medical malpractice can be a devastating result. Some of the types of errors that can lead to blindness It can be as simple as a delay or a misdiagnosis of an infectious process or deteriorating process in the eye. You can also get a mechanical error by a practitioner or a surgeon in and around the face or eyes that causes severe damage to the eye.

And like all medical malpractice cases that result in severe damages, severe injuries to the person, loss of vision is certainly something that is catastrophic to a person's way of life because it not only takes away someone's ability to enjoy their life, but it also takes away a lot of their independence. And so the loss of vision can be something that often leads a person to needing 24/7 care and a lot of assistance in their daily life. And so medical malpractice cases that lead to blindness can be quite significant in nature.