Opticians Admit Liability for Damage to Boy's Vision

A teenage boy who suffered permanent damage to his eyesight after signs of a rare eye disease were missed during an eye test is set to receive compensation, following an admission of liability by the chain of opticians that carried out the eye test.

The boy had attended a branch of the opticians for a routine eye examination. No issues with his eyesight or eye health were identified at that time. Several months later, however, he woke up with loss of vision in the centre of his left eye. He returned to the branch and was urgently referred to hospital. Doctors suspected that he had Coats' disease, a rare eye disorder affecting blood vessels in the retina.

He was sent to another hospital, where a diagnosis of Coats' disease was confirmed. The boy's family was told that it would be highly unusual for the disease to progress as it had if the results of the initial eye test had been normal. He had to undergo multiple surgeries and suffered permanent damage to the sight in his left eye.

The scans taken by the opticians during the initial examination had in fact shown evidence of Coats' disease and should have resulted in a referral for eye surgery. Had this occurred, permanent damage to the boy's vision would have been prevented.

After the family brought a claim, the chain of opticians admitted liability. It accepted that there had been a failure to conduct an adequate eye examination and that, if it had not been for that breach of duty, the boy would probably have received treatment before his condition significantly worsened.