Jennifer Arias traveled to Miami for surgery at New Life Plastic Surgery on Aug. 13. Her sister, Erika Arias, said Jennifer texted her at 4:18 a.m. to say she was going into surgery. Hours later, Erika received a call saying Jennifer was having trouble breathing.

Jennifer was taken to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, where she died. The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office determined that bilateral pulmonary fat emboli — fat that entered both lungs — caused her death following liposuction and fat-transfer surgery to her buttocks. The death was classified as accidental.

Her family traveled to Miami after learning she was in distress. “We felt awful. Sometimes it’s like it was a dream, but it was real what was happening,” her father, Wilson Arias, said.

Jennifer’s death is at least the sixth following procedures at New Life Plastic Surgery since 2018, according to a review of lawsuits and county and state records. One earlier case involved Naimy Sucetz, 41, who died in 2022 after liposuction and a tummy tuck at the clinic. The surgeon identified in that case was Julio Clavijo-Alvarez, whom Jennifer’s family says performed her surgery.

Court records show Clavijo-Alvarez has faced at least four civil lawsuits since 2020 alleging improper care led to injuries or complications. He denied the allegations, according to the records. Two cases were settled and two remained pending at the time of the investigation.

The Florida Board of Medicine reprimanded Clavijo-Alvarez in 2024 and imposed $15,000 in fines to resolve three administrative complaints. They involved allegations concerning prescribing practices, safety at an outpatient surgery center and complications involving a surgical drain. Under the settlement, he neither admitted nor denied the allegations.

New Life Plastic Surgery has also been named in more than a dozen malpractice lawsuits over six years, according to Miami-Dade court records. Some were dismissed or settled, while others remained pending. In court filings, the clinic has denied liability and argued, in part, that it is not responsible for doctors who work there as independent contractors.

The clinic and its attorneys had not responded to questions about Jennifer’s death and other cases by the time of publication. Clavijo-Alvarez and his attorney also had not responded to requests for comment. The Florida Department of Health did not respond to questions.

The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office confirmed that its homicide bureau has an open investigation into Jennifer’s death. Her father said he hopes investigators can provide an explanation.

Jennifer’s family described a lasting loss for her 7-year-old daughter. “My daughter isn’t coming back. She is not coming back,” Jennifer’s mother, Monica Arias, said. She called for stronger protections for cosmetic surgery patients so other families would not face a similar loss.