$100 Million Verdict for Toddler Permanently Injured by Doctor Who Operated Ten Days After License Was Revoked

On February 5, 2021, the Florida Board of Medicine revoked the medical license of Dr. Berto Lopez, a West Palm Beach physician with a history of patient harm stretching back to 2004 and linked to nearly 20 serious injuries, including six deaths. Ten days later, Lopez performed a circumcision on a newborn at his West Palm Beach office.

The procedure, which should have taken minutes, lasted approximately one hour. Lopez removed tissue and disposed of it, leaving the infant with permanent and irreparable injury. Surgical correction was not possible.

Attorneys Gary Cohen and Aimee Ferrer of Boca Raton firm Grossman Roth Yaffa Cohen filed suit on behalf of the boy's family. The case went to trial in Palm Beach County Circuit Court in August 2024. Lopez did not appear in court and did not retain defense counsel.

The trial revealed a systemic breakdown: when the Board of Medicine revoked Lopez's license, notification was sent by mail rather than through any immediate alert system. Local police, called after the procedure by the family, initially reported that Lopez held an active license. The gap between revocation and effective notice allowed him to continue seeing patients. Cohen pointed to the Board of Medicine's multi-year failure to act, noting complaints against Lopez dated to 2004.

On August 27, 2024, the jury returned a verdict of $100 million for physical impairment and mental anguish. The award is held in trust, available to the child upon adulthood, with provisions for medical expenses and emotional support during childhood. The boy's father acknowledged that Lopez, who has no known assets, is unlikely to satisfy the judgment, but said the family pursued the verdict to draw public attention to the licensing oversight failures. No post-verdict reduction or appeal has been reported.