by Kandiss Edwards
January 15, 2026
Judge Jon W. Setzer awarded the family of the victim $16 million for pain and suffering and $36 million for wrongful death.
A Georgia jury awarded $52 million in damages to the family of Doris Jordan, a woman who died after undergoing a cosmetic procedure called a Brazilian butt lift (BBL). However, her family will most likely not receive any of the money.
On Dec.9, the jury entered the verdict in Gwinnett County Superior Court. Judge Jon W. Setzer awarded the family of the victim $16 million for pain and suffering and $36 million for wrongful death, KBTX reported. The judgment stems from a December 2019 surgery performed at Sei Bello, a cosmetic surgery clinic in Lawrenceville.
Jordan was a nurse, an Army veteran, and a mother of three. She died one day after the procedure. Court testimony detailed the mother’s cause of death as brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen during surgery.
Moses Kim, attorney for the family, said Jordan’s oxygen supply was compromised as there was no source of oxygen throughout the entire building. Staff members did not realize she was without oxygen during the entirety of the surgery.
“Miss Jordan was not breathing, and when they went to see if she was getting any oxygen through the tubes in her nose, they ran the line and realized the end of the plastic tube wasn’t connected to any oxygen because they didn’t have any oxygen in the facility,” said Kim.
Kim said employees present at the time did not call 911 for approximately 19 minutes after determining Jordan had no pulse and was not breathing. He asserts the clinic was guilty of malpractice before, during, and after the procedure.
Jordan’s husband, James Jordan, says that the family is unlikely to recover most of the judgment because the clinic was uninsured at the time of the procedure. However, the award is the least of his concerns.
“I want my wife back,” James Jordan, Doris’ husband, told Atlanta News First. “The money doesn’t compensate for what she did for me and our family.”
Sei Bello was dissolved in 2020, according to the Georgia Secretary of State website. John Holmes, the registered owner, failed to meet registration and fee requirements. The physician involved in Jordan’s care, Kanye Willis, settled with the family out of court and remains licensed to practice in the state of Georgia.
The family said that the lawsuit was intended to establish accountability for Doris Jordan’s death and raise awareness about disreputable clinics.
“I just hope people get this and look into it seriously because these pop-up clinics are not all they appear to be on the surface,” James Jordan said.
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