As a father of four children with a deep background in health and wellness--including serving as the lead speaker at over 300 regenerative medicine seminars--I have always prioritized accurate, responsible, and child-focused medical care. My experience with Dr. Lorna Bennett at Bennett Pediatrics was not only deeply disappointing--it was professionally negligent, dismissive, and outright dangerous.
I brought forth evidence-backed concerns regarding the illegal administration of prescription medication to two of my children by a non-medical adult. Both children experienced negative side effects, and were misdiagnosed by an after-hours clinic with conditions that lacked proper testing or symptom correlation. Dr. Bennett dismissed these concerns outright, defending other clinics' failures and refusing to critically assess the risk posed to my children.
One of the most disturbing examples came when my young daughter was stuck by an uncapped needle while taking out the trash at her mother's home. Dr. Bennett's response? She compared it to needle sticks nurses receive, completely minimizing the uncontrolled, unsupervised nature of the incident and ignoring the traumatic context. This isn't care--it's dereliction of duty.
In another case, my daughter tested Class 5 for cat allergies--a medically significant reaction that should have prompted immediate recommendations to remove allergen exposure from the home. Initially, Dr. Bennett stated the cats needed to go--but then, inexplicably, reversed her stance and pushed pharmaceutical treatment instead. This wasn't medical discretion--it was an intentional downplaying of an urgent environmental health risk. My daughter has a clearly documented history of severe allergic reactions to cats and dogs--confirmed by formal allergy testing showing a Class 5 reaction to cats and Class VI reaction to dogs, which indicates an extremely high risk of significant respiratory distress. She has no history of allergic reactions to any other environmental triggers. Prior to the introduction of cats into her mother's household, she was a vibrant, healthy child--able to run, play, and live life fully without the need for medical intervention. Since that exposure began, her health has taken a steep and devastating downturn.
She now suffers from persistent respiratory symptoms, including coughing fits so severe she sounds like a 90-year-old chain smoker. She's been placed on daily steroids and albuterol, and is being pharmaceutically managed rather than medically protected.
Let me be clear: this didn't come out of nowhere. It's not genetic, it's not mystery asthma. This is a direct result of long-term, repeated exposure to known allergens, despite documented evidence and professional acknowledgment that such exposure posed a serious risk.
Instead of acting on this information to remove the trigger, Dr. Lorna Bennett and others chose the path of least resistance--excusing the presence of the cats, downplaying the severity, and pushing medication as a substitute for safety. This isn't care. It's institutional betrayal. During a recent visit, Dr. Bennett offered yet another disturbing deflection: she claimed my daughter's severe respiratory decline was likely due to her vaccine status, despite no clinical basis and no consistent pattern among her siblings. My two older daughters, with nearly identical vaccine schedules, have no history of asthma. My youngest--who is further behind in vaccinations than Tessa--hasn't developed symptoms.
This wasn't a medically grounded explanation. It was a distraction--a sleek, baseless excuse to avoid addressing the real issue: prolonged exposure to a medically confirmed allergen. Dr. Bennett had no data, no evidence, and no accountability. Just a sales pitch.
Parents don't bring their children to pediatricians to be sold misleading narratives. They come for care. For protection. For truth. And at Bennett Pediatrics, you will find none of that.
During yet another visit, a ringworm lesion the size of a quarter was missed during a head-to-toe evaluation--even after two ER visits and an urgent care trip within six days. Instead of addressing these errors, Dr. Bennett focused the appointment on an unsolicited conversation about divorce, accompanied by religious commentary that had no place in a pediatric health visit.
This clinic operates with a dismissive, "prescribe-and-dismiss" mindset, offering superficial evaluations, excusing errors made by other providers, and silencing informed parental input. I entered as a highly engaged, experienced parent--and was treated as though my concerns didn't matter. That's not medicine. That's malpractice. I urge every parent to avoid this practice. Dr. Lorna Bennett does not advocate for children--she pacifies dysfunction and enables harm.
This is not an emotional rant. This is a public record of medical negligence.
I have submitted a formal complaint to the Florida Board of Medicine. read more