Liability for pediatric care

Liability claims involving eye care for pediatric patients may constitute as much as 20% of claims against optometrists, with the most common sources of litigation being failure to detect tumors affecting the visual system, improper diagnosis and management of binocular vision disorders, and injuries from shattered spectacle lenses. Claims for pediatric patients tend to allege large damages, partially because of the significant effect exerted by lifelong vision impairment or loss of vision.