
The tragic circumstance wherein Idalia Corcoles, a 39-year-old Chicago mother of four, succumbed to complications post-plastic surgery has led to her family being awarded a landmark $66 million by a Cook County jury. This decision, revealed on Friday, is anchored upon the grave medical negligence that befell Corcoles during what was to be a routine liposuction surgery at the 63rd Medical and Surgical Center. As reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, the family's attorney from Clifford Law Offices confirmed that Corcoles suffered internal bleeding post-operation which was not recognized nor appropriately addressed by Dr. Ayoub Sayeg, the surgeon responsible for the procedure.
According to the lawsuit, Sayeg's significant failings included not performing a complete physical exam before surgery, not obtaining necessary medical clearance, and erroneously executing the operation leading to a perforation of Corcoles' abdominal wall and a spleen laceration, Dr. Sayeg also admitted he never checked on Corcoles following the surgery; as pointed out by the CBS News report, the physician had testified that he failed to see the signs of internal bleeding post-operation and Corcoles was, in essence, left to fend for herself during what transformed into a fatal recovery process.
Leading to the substantial verdict—which now stands as the largest known judgment in Cook County against a plastic surgeon and potentially the highest in Illinois for medical malpractice—was a narrative that painted a harrowing picture of medical abandonment. "The negligence of this medical practitioner is so egregious that the jury knew they had to do the right thing for this innocent family," Clifford Law Offices' Bradley Cosgrove told Chicago Sun-Times in remarks that underscored the jury's decisive stance on the matter.
Brad Cosgrove further elucidated the grim details of Corcoles' postoperative care, or the lack thereof, "They essentially abandoned her in the recovery room," he explained, detailing the tragic abandonment; this is according to him and as reported by CBS News, explaining the situation which led to Corcoles being allowed to bleed to death. While the jury's decision is a message no doubt resounding across the medical community, it comes at the immeasurable cost of a family now without their mother and wife, a stark reminder of the grave responsibilities that lie in the hands of those within the medical profession.