Leon Medical to pay man $13M over surgery

When his eyesight became clouded by cataracts in 2013, 80-year-old Miguel Diaz of Miami Beach turned for help to the company he has trusted for years to provide his healthcare: Leon Medical Centers, one of South Florida’s most popular Medicare clinics.

The company, with seven clinics in Miami-Dade County staffed by doctors, dentists, optometrists, pharmacists and other providers, quickly set in motion the extensive healthcare machinery that is central to its appeal — dozens of medical services available under one roof.

In short order, Diaz said, Leon Medical Centers scheduled a visit with the ophthalmologist, arranged for cataract surgery and took charge of his post-operative care.

But when the ophthalmologist blinded Diaz in his right eye — as Diaz claimed in a lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court — Leon Medical Centers disavowed the doctor’s work, saying he was an independent contractor and not a staff physician, so they weren’t at fault.

A Miami jury disagreed. On Aug. 31, jurors found that even though Leon Medical Centers had the ophthalmologist, Dr. Jonathan Leon-Rosen, on contract, the company had acted as though he were an employee. The verdict: $13 million for Diaz and his wife, Esther, 70.

Diaz is not the only Leon Medical Centers member suing the clinics for a botched cataract surgery by the same ophthalmologist. Thirteen others also have filed lawsuits in Miami-Dade claiming they lost sight or were blinded by LeonRosen. Esther Diaz on her husband Miguel who lost vision in his right eye after cataract surgery

Leon-Rosen could not be reached for comment. His attorney, John Mauro of Fort Lauderdale, did not respond to messages from the Herald.

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Peter Lopez has ordered separate trials for each patient’s claim. Diaz’s case was the first, with the next scheduled in November.

Seated in the Coral Gables office of his attorney the day after the verdict, Miguel Diaz was mostly quiet as his wife and their daughter, Maria Febres, explained what happened to him.

“My life has changed a lot,” he said softly. “I have to have my family and friends to help.” Esther Diaz is blunt. “They ruined his life,” she said. “He was supposed to see the next day when they removed the bandage . ... Now, he can’t walk. He loses his balance. He can’t drive.”

After his surgery, Diaz filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Leon Medical Centers and Leon-Rosen (no relation to the clinics), the ophthalmology practice group, South Florida Eye Associates, and the center where his cataract operation was performed, the Coral Gables Surgery Center.

Diaz settled with LeonRosen, the ophthalmology practice and the surgical center in 2015 — but not with Leon Medical Centers, forcing a trial.

The jury found that Leon Medical Centers was not negligent, but that the doctor was an apparent agent of the clinics — making Leon Medical Centers liable for Diaz’s injury.

Jurors assigned Leon Medical Centers 80 percent of the liability with the remaining 20 percent divided equally between the surgery center and the ophthalmology practice.

But unless the judge changes the amount of the jury’s award, Leon Medical Centers is on the hook for the whole $13 million because the court determined that the clinics will not get a reduction for the negligence of the surgical center and the ophthalmology practice.

Leon Medical Centers refused an interview request but said in a written statement that the company will appeal the verdict, and added: “While we are pleased that the jury correctly concluded that there was no negligence on the part of Leon Medical Centers, we are disappointed that the effect of their decision is to hold Leon Medical Centers liable for the actions of an independently contracted ophthalmologist group. Furthermore, Leon medical Centers is committed to facilitating its patients’ access to its independent healthcare specialists and in doing so, it is in no way misleading its patients.”

Attorney Gary Friedman, who represents Diaz and 13 other patients who are suing, said Leon-Rosen no longer works for Leon Medical Centers. The doctor’s license and profile posted online by the Florida Department of Health