HUDSON, Fla. — A Florida back surgeon has filed a $500 million lawsuit against the State of Florida, alleging his clinic was wrongfully shut down.
In the lawsuit, Dr. Alfred Bonati, owner of the Bonati Spine Institute, claimed the state's shutdown was based on allegedly false accusations. The nine-page document cites "civil rights violations, conspiracy by state officials, defamation and libel."
In March 2023, the state filed an emergency suspension order against the surgery center, saying it put patients’ health, safety, and welfare at risk.
That center is licensed as the Medical Development Corporation of Pasco County, Inc., which was closed on March 14, 2023, after an inspection by the Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA).
In June 2023, the state agreed to lift the suspension after the institute paid a $50,000 fine.
Attorney Nicole Kruegel has sued Bonati multiple times since 2018 and reached settlements in those cases.
“They were all very similar cases involving complications during surgery which led to some very serious problems that were not addressed correctly, and my clients were devastatingly injured as a result,” Kreugel said last year.
In various court papers, however, Bonati said he did not cause the patients’ injuries, that the patient’s own negligence was a factor and he denied allegations of wrongdoing.
