US Hospital Sued For Losing Part Of Patient's Skull Following Surgery

A man in the United States is suing an Atlanta hospital after staff allegedly lost a piece of his skull after a routine procedure and then billed him for a synthetic replacement when they couldn't find it. According to the New York Post, the man, identified as Fernando Cluster, checked in to Emory University Hospital in September 2022 for an intracerebral haemorrhage - commonly known as a brain bleed. At the time, doctors determined a 4.7-by-6-inch piece of skull needed to be removed to reduce pressure. However, after returning to the hospital two months later to have the piece of the skull replaced, the hospital couldn't find it amidst a pile of other unidentified bone fragments from other patients' bodies. 

"We inspected the freezer where bone flaps are stored and could not find a bone flap with Mr. Cluster's patient identification," a note left by hospital staff in Cluster's medical file read, per the Post. "There were several bone flaps with incomplete or missing patient identification, but we could not be certain which if any of these belonged to Mr. Cluster," it added. 

As a result, Mr Cluster's surgery was cancelled while the hospital fabricated a synthetic piece of skull. During that time, he was left with a large depression on the right side of his skull. By the end of November 2022, the replacement had been inserted into the patient's head, however, the hospital charged him over $19,000 for the synthetic bone to replace what that they had allegedly lost. 

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However, even after the replacement, Mr Cluster's struggle was far from over. Once the synthetic bone was inserted, he reportedly contracted an infection, needed additional surgery and was left unable to work for a time. By the end of his ordeal, his hospital bill topped $146,800 and the hospital allegedly never offered him and his wife any discounts for the treatment. 

"While my clients are obviously upset that they and their insurance company were billed for the costs related to Emory's negligence, I'm sure you can understand that their focus is on the egregiousness of Emory losing a part of his body and then having a flippant attitude about it afterwards," Mr Cluster's attorney Chloe Dallaire said. 

As per the outlet, Mr Cluster and his wife are now seeking to have the hospital compensate them for medical bills and emotional damages.