The case of quackery posing as medical science: optometric malpractice
Rebecca Jones (name changed to preserve confidentiality) was a young child who suffered from an eye disorder called esotropia, or "floating eye." People suffering from this disorder are unable to align their eyes as people with normal eyesight, which ultimately results in a loss of depth perception and other serious eye problems.
Rebecca's parents sought help from an optometrist who advised them that they could cure Rebecca by "training" the eyes to work together through a series of exercises, such as touching her nose with her finger, wearing "nasal occluders," and putting a string through a Cheerio.
After submitting to this regime for a lengthy period without results, Rebecca's mother sought out the services of an ophthalmologist. Rebecca was rushed to surgery, but the problem could not be corrected because she had passed the window of opportunity where surgery would have been fully effective. Suit was brought against the optometrist charging him with the unauthorized practice of medicine and medical malpractice.
Incredibly, the optometrist defended by claiming that he was not a doctor, and therefore should not be held to a doctor's standard of care. More distressing, he argued that since many optometrists recommended this useless therapy, no negligence had occurred.
Attorney A. Paul Spinella relied on impressive expert testimony in the field of ophthalmology since many doctors in this field saw this as an important test case.
After a hard-fought and lengthy trial, the jury returned a substantial verdict for Rebecca.