A tragic case of alleged medical negligence has surfaced, as a widow files a lawsuit against a Florida medical center and its staff. Tereza Monteiro, representing the estate and survivors of her late husband Marcos Benigno, filed the complaint on August 28, 2024, in the Circuit Court of the 15th Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County, Florida. The defendants include West Boca Medical Center, Inc., Dr. Leah Black, and Paragon Contracting Services, LLC.

The complaint outlines a series of events that began on February 16, 2023, when Marcos Benigno visited the emergency department at West Boca Medical Center due to severe headaches and high blood pressure. Despite these alarming symptoms, Dr. Leah Black diagnosed him with muscle pain related to his cabinetry work and attributed his high blood pressure to pain. She advised him to continue taking over-the-counter pain relievers like Tylenol or Ibuprofen and discharged him without ordering critical diagnostic tests such as a CT scan with contrast or consulting a neurosurgeon.

Monteiro’s complaint alleges that Dr. Black’s failure to conduct appropriate diagnostic tests or provide adequate warnings about potential serious conditions like an intracerebral hemorrhage directly led to Benigno’s deteriorating health. Two days after his discharge from West Boca Medical Center, Benigno collapsed at home and was rushed to Boca Raton Regional Hospital where he was diagnosed with an aneurysm followed by a stroke. Despite medical intervention, he never recovered and passed away on March 14, 2023.