PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A former doctor in Florida has been held responsible for $100 million in a medical malpractice suit connected to a botched circumcision of an infant, with a troubling history of numerous procedural errors leading to six patient deaths.

A jury in Palm Beach County awarded the child’s parents $100 million on August 27 after they claimed that Dr. Berto Lopez severed parts of their infant’s penis during a circumcision in 2021. Notably, Lopez conducted this procedure only ten days after the Florida Board of Medicine voted to revoke his medical license.

Throughout the trial, jurors were presented with testimonies from expert witnesses, the family of the child, and harrowing photographs depicting the ramifications of the procedure. Attorney Gary Cohen, representing the family, characterized the aftermath as leaving the infant’s penis in a “bleeding, scabby mess.”

Lopez’s malpractice extends beyond this incident; court documents revealed at least 14 severe injuries attributed to him, including the deaths of six patients.

In total, Lopez has faced four disciplinary cases and nine malpractice claims, which include lawsuits associated with the deaths of two infants, injuries to another, and the death of an 18-year-old mother in the 1990s. For context, the typical OB-GYN encounters two to three lawsuits throughout their career.

$100 million settlement follows 2017 maternal death

The case of Onystei Castillo-Lopez, a 40-year-old mother who tragically died in July 2017 after giving birth to her second child, contributed to the revocation of Lopez’s license. He allegedly left the hospital to change his scrubs while Castillo-Lopez was prepared for surgery.

Castillo-Lopez died from excessive blood loss after developing tears in her cervix during childbirth. An administrative complaint indicated that Lopez attempted to address the cervix injuries outside the operating room.

Moreover, Lopez did not complete the necessary surgical procedure—a total hysterectomy—resulting in Castillo-Lopez’s death from postpartum hemorrhage.

This incident unfolded just three months after other complications had led the state Board of Medicine to place restrictions on Lopez’s medical license, which he failed to disclose to Castillo-Lopez and her spouse.

Lopez still owes a settlement to Castillo-Lopez’s husband, which he has yet to pay.

How could Berto Lopez continue to practice after license revocation?

Although Lopez’s medical license was officially revoked on February 5, 2021, in light of the Castillo-Lopez case, the revocation did not go into effect immediately; the revocation order was not filed until February 22.

During this interim, he was permitted to continue practicing. On February 15, the parents of an infant boy—referred to as Baby G.L.—sought Lopez’s services for a circumcision, and they agreed to pay him $250 in cash.

Lopez failed to inform the baby’s parents about his license being revoked prior to performing the circumcision. According to attorney Cohen, “If he had mentioned it, they would have left immediately.”

The baby’s mother waited outside while Lopez proceeded to remove a third of the baby’s penis, which resulted in a severed urethra. He assured the father that the bleeding was typical and nothing to be concerned about.

After attempting to control the bleeding for about 45 minutes, Lopez sent the family home with gauze. The following day, the parents took their son to an emergency room, where they were referred to a pediatric urologist who was visibly distressed upon examining the injury, according to the father’s testimony.

In January 2022, the parents filed a lawsuit against Lopez after discovering that he had performed the circumcision after the Board’s decision regarding his medical license.

What about other affected patients?

An investigation by The Palm Beach Post in 2021 revealed a series of malpractice allegations against Lopez throughout his career, documenting six patient deaths due to his negligence.

In the early stages of his career, Lopez worked for the Palm Beach County Health Care District, which serves underprivileged communities. Many of his affected patients were insured under Medicaid, providing support to those with minimal income and resources.

Here are some notable cases:

• Crystal Diane Hicks, infant. In a deposition, Lopez stated that he had faced accusations for not conducting a timely C-section, which was linked to her death in 1988.
• Earl Buchanan, infant. There was a lawsuit settlement in 1992 regarding his death, implicating Lopez.
• Nakia Gilmore, 18. She passed away after a childbirth procedure in 1994; specifics on the cause of death remain unclear.
• Samuel Mercedes, infant. Court documents from 1994 reveal complications due to an undiagnosed neural tube defect, resulting in severe birth defects.
• Michelle Hirt, 31. In 2002, Lopez failed to entirely remove her deceased fetus, which was documented by the Florida Health Department. Hirt later delivered the remains in a friend’s bathroom.
• Joyce Rivers, 56. She died from complications after her small intestine was punctured during an outpatient ovary removal procedure in July 2012, according to the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office.
• Ashley Perez, a 29-year-old mother, died from internal bleeding in April 2014 following a C-section and tubal ligation, where an ovarian stitch failed.

• Dominic Shelton, a newborn boy, endured significant brain injuries that resulted in cerebral palsy due to a delayed cesarean section in April 2011, according to a lawsuit.
• Matthew Dixson, a baby boy, was delivered with a fractured arm and lasting nerve damage in November 2011 because a C-section was not performed, as stated in a legal case.
• Joann Catlett, 47, experienced severe incapacitation for six months following a hysterectomy where her ureter was mistakenly severed. She pursued legal action and received a settlement.
• A woman referred to as L.R., 32 years old, faced a significant postpartum hemorrhage in July 2014 following a tubal ligation, according to DOH records. She lost six liters of blood but survived.
• Baby R.R.R. underwent a circumcision in May 2017 that resulted in the loss of his penis, leading to a lawsuit that was subsequently settled.

Contributors: Hannah Phillips and John Pacenti, Palm Beach Post

Holly Baltz is the investigations editor at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hbaltz@pbpost.com.