![\"Miami-Marlins-right-fielder-Avisail-Garcia\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Miami-Marlins-right-fielder-Avisail-Garcia.jpg\")
Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\nSam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n
Former Major League Baseball star Avisail Garcia is suing the University of Miami over a medical diagnosis he claims led to a career-ending injury. Garcia alleges that Miami physicians neglected to treat the injury that ended his career \u2013 a stress fracture in his lower back \u2013 for over a year.<\/p>\n
According to Garcia\u2019s lawsuit<\/a>, doctors at the University of Miami\u2019s Miller School of Medicine failed to order a necessary CT scan after an MRI showed a pars defect, or stress fracture. The 2017 American League All-Star says he instead treated with rigorous physical therapy and injections to relieve muscular or disc discomfort, which made the condition worse.<\/p>\n His attorney, Jorge Silva, told NBC 6 South Florida<\/a> that \u201cthe radiology report making the proper diagnosis with the proper recommendation fell through the cracks.\u201d<\/p>\n The lawsuit faults doctors for \u201cfailing to properly examine, evaluate, diagnose, and treat Avisail Antonio Garcia\u201d and \u201cfailing to communicate the correct diagnosis to Avisail Antonio Garcia.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHad the defendant, by and through its multiple physicians, acted appropriately based on the findings on the MRI of June 4, 2023, which unambiguously and clearly reported \u2018bilateral L5 pars interarticularis defect,\u2019 Avi would have had a targeted plan of treatment for his specific condition,\u201d the lawsuit claims. \u201cInstead, for over one full year, his treatment consisted of injections and therapy that was dramatically deleterious, including weightlifting and high-intensity baseball. All Avi needed was rest and possibly a back brace.\u201d<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t until after Miami released him that he got proper treatment<\/p>\n The lawsuit goes on to state that after the Miami Marlins<\/a> released him, a New York physician performed \u201cextensive back surgery,\u201d stabilizing the affected area with plates and screws. Garcia\u2019s attorneys contend that if the initial imaging and treatment course had been different, they may have avoided the treatments that caused more damage. The lawsuit claims that the misdiagnosis cut Garcia\u2019s career short and the delays in diagnosis and treatment left him with chronic discomfort.<\/p>\n Avisail Garcia announced his retirement in February, almost two years after the Marlins designated him for assignment and released him, despite signing him to a four-year, $53 million deal before the 2022 season. In his final, mostly healthy season, Garcia played in 135 games and hit 29 home runs with 86 RBI for the Milwaukee Brewers<\/a> in 2021.<\/p>\n