Jury Awards $200,000 for Botched Cosmetic Surgery Lawsuit

For Immediate Release: November 12, 2015

Chicago, IL – F-52 was awarded $200,000.00 in damages due to the medical malpractice committed by Dr. M. Vincent Makhlouf. The verdict was rendered Thursday evening, November 12, after four days of trial evidence. The jury's unanimous verdict was quickly reached and required less than three hours of deliberation.

On August 5, 2011, F-52 underwent a buttock lift and liposuction of the right inner thigh, as well as scar revision of the distal inner thigh lift, at Holy Family Medical Center, which was performed by Dr. Makhlouf. On February 2, 2012, Dr. Makhlouf advised the plaintiff that she would need an additional surgery that would include scar revision and fat grafting. Subsequently, the plaintiff obtained two estimates for corrective surgeries from physicians in the New York City area where she was residing. At the time of the trial, the plaintiff had not had any of the recommended corrective surgeries.

Defendant denied liability and made no offer of settlement before the verdict. Although sometimes Dr. Makhlouf operates through Associates for Plastic Surgery Excellence, Ltd., this case was against Dr. Makhlouf individually.

This case was tried in Circuit Court of Cook County in Chicago, Illinois before the Honorable Patrick Foran Lustig.

NOTE: According to a recent study, the plaintiff win-rate for medical malpractice was 23 percent, which was less than half the plaintiff win rate for other personal injury cases. See Robert C. LaFountain and Cynthia G. Lee, Medical Malpractice Litigation in State Courts (April 2011) at 4; see also U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Tort Bench and Jury Trials in State Courts, 2005,” NCJ 228129 (November 2009) at 4. The elective nature of cosmetic surgery makes it still more difficult for plaintiffs to bring these legal claims successfully.