$1.75 Million Glaucoma Settlement: On February 27, 2023, a glaucoma medical malpractice lawsuit filed in New York by a 51-year-old woman whose glaucoma was not timely diagnosed, resulting in permanent eye damage, was settled for $1.75 million.
The plaintiff, Rupa Dharia, alleged that she received routine eye care from the defendants, David Carotenuto, O.D. and Family Vision Health Center, beginning in April 2016. The annual eye care visits included dilation and eye pressure readings to evaluate her optic nerve. Intraocular pressure measurements are used to detect glaucoma, a disease involving fluid build up in the front part of the eye that increases the pressure in the eye leading to damage to the optic nerve.
Intraocular pressure measurements of the woman’s eyes were elevated beginning in 2018. Despite the increasing eye pressure, she was not referred to a glaucoma specialist until 2020. The woman was diagnosed with advanced-stage open-angle glaucoma on January 25, 2020.
The plaintiff alleged in her glaucoma medical malpractice lawsuit that the failure of the defendants to timely refer her to a glaucoma specialist who could provide diagnosis and treatment to slow the progression of her glaucoma led to irreversible damage to her optic nerve in both eyes. Her treatment after diagnosis included laser trabeculoplasty in August 2020.
The plaintiff alleged that as a result of the defendants’ medical negligence, she is unable to drive at night, she cannot read street signs, her vision problem causes her to become confused when walking in unfamiliar places, and she has fallen due to problems with her balance. Her vision problems are expected to worsen over time and are irreversible.
Glaucoma
According to the Cleveland Clinic, most people develop glaucoma in both eyes, although the disease initially may be worse in one eye. With open-angle glaucoma, one eye may have moderate or severe damage, while the other eye may be mildly affected. People with closed-angle glaucoma in one eye have a 40% to 80% chance of developing the same type of glaucoma in the other eye within five to 10 years.
Open-Angle Glaucoma
Open-angle glaucoma is the most common, affecting up to 90% of Americans who have glaucoma. It occurs when resistance builds up in the eye’s drainage canals. The drainage canals appear to be open and functioning normally. Over months or years, the fluid in the eye can build up and put pressure on the optic nerve. The disease may go unnoticed for years because most people do not have symptoms.
Closed-Angle Glaucoma
Also called angle-closure or narrow-angle glaucoma, this rare type often comes on suddenly (acute). It occurs when the angle between the iris and cornea is too narrow. It may happen when the pupil changes and becomes too big (dilated) too quickly. This blocks the drainage canals and prevents aqueous fluid from leaving the eye, causing eye pressure to rise. Symptoms, including eye pain and headaches, can be severe and require immediate medical attention.
Normal-Tension Glaucoma
As many as 1 in 3 people have optic nerve damage even when eye pressure is normal or not very high. Experts are uncertain about what causes normal-tension glaucoma. Another name for this type is normal-pressure or low-tension glaucoma. This type is more common among people of Asian descent or Asian Americans.
If you or a loved one may have been harmed as a result of undiagnosed or untreated glaucoma in New York or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find a New York medical malpractice lawyer, or a medical malpractice lawyer in your state, who may investigate your medical negligence claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a glaucoma medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
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