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Italian fashion designer Roberto Cavalli’s former wife, Eva Cavalli, has launched a ₺42 million (about $986,000) negligence lawsuit against a private hospital in Bodrum, while 13 internationally known figures, including Andrea Bocelli and Cindy Crawford, have submitted witness statements saying she would have died if she had not undergone surgery.
According to a report by Deniz Yusufoglu in Sabah, Cavalli, who was crowned Miss Europe in 1977 and later married Roberto Cavalli, travelled to a well-known luxury detox center in Bodrum in August 2023.
She underwent a procedure described as a “treatment,” after which her intestines allegedly tore.
She was then taken to a nearby private hospital, where she says she was left waiting in severe pain and with a high fever, and that appropriate treatment was not carried out in time. Cavalli claims she was kept in this condition for 35 hours before doctors finally decided to operate.
Following the incident, Cavalli filed a claim for ₺42 million in damages against the hospital through her lawyer, Dr. Candas Gurol. The lawsuit was brought before the Bodrum Consumer Court, where the case file has continued to grow with new testimony.
Thirteen witnesses, many of them prominent names in fashion and business, have now submitted written statements to the court describing what Cavalli went through during and after the incident.
Among them are world-famous tenor Andrea Bocelli and his wife, Veronica Bocelli; models Cindy Crawford, Natasha Poly and Caro Daur; and business figures Remo Ruffini, Goga Ashkenazi and Danielle Cavalli.
Several of these witnesses told the court that “Eva would have died if she had not undergone surgery,” underlining their view that the situation had become life-threatening by the time the operation was finally carried out.
Daniel Cavalli, the couple’s son from the marriage of Roberto and Eva Cavalli, also gave evidence as a witness. He said he had been present throughout the process and had seen firsthand the impact on his mother.
He stated that he had “witnessed all of her pain and suffering” and had seen “how this trauma affected her in the long term,” indicating that the consequences of the incident continued well beyond the immediate medical crisis.
Andrea Bocelli and his wife, Veronica, told the court that they had known Eva Cavalli for many years and had followed her treatment process closely. They said she had been unable to attend some recent events because of the continuing medical problems that began with the Bodrum incident.
Bocelli said they had seen her not long ago and that “she was very tired and said her treatment was not over,” adding that they would support her through two further operations scheduled in the coming period.
Supermodel Cindy Crawford, who also submitted a statement, stressed the wider impact on Cavalli’s life and career.
She said the situation had not only caused Cavalli “great emotional distress” but had also led to the loss of valuable opportunities and brought both moral and financial difficulties.
Russian-born model Natasha Poly told the court that she had observed Cavalli “suffering deep physical and psychological pain,” underlining that the incident had left lasting marks on her friend’s well-being.
German model and influencer Caro Daur said that “because nobody realized in time, Eva endured unbearable pain for 30 hours” and noted that Cavalli stayed out of the public eye for a long period afterward.
Remo Ruffini, described in the file as the chief executive of a world-famous brand, also appeared among the witnesses. He said he knew that Cavalli had to abandon many business contracts as a result of what he called a “serious accident,” adding that some of those agreements had already been signed before the incident.
Ruffini’s statement pointed to a significant financial dimension to the claim, in addition to the health and emotional aspects described by other witnesses.
With Eva Cavalli’s negligence lawsuit seeking ₺42 million from the hospital and a roster of high-profile figures giving detailed testimony about her pain, trauma and alleged loss of work, the case before the Bodrum Consumer Court is set to remain in the spotlight as the legal process continues.
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