Man Sues Hospital for Allegedly Losing Part of His Skull, Charging Him $19K to Replace It

In keeping with a lawsuit filed by the Hornsby Regulation Group on behalf of Fernando Cluster, 62, Emory College Hospital Midtown in Atlanta misplaced a small part of his cranium throughout a process on September 30, 2022.

In keeping with the go well with filed on August 8, 2024, after Cluster handed out and fell, he was recognized with and “intracerebral hemorrhage.” Consequently, he was admitted to the hospital for a “decompressive hemicraniectomy.”

This process consists of eradicating a small portion of the cranium, or a “bone flap,” to alleviate stress on the mind. In keeping with the lawsuit, the piece faraway from Cluster’s cranium measured 12cm x 15cm.

On November 11, 2022, after he had healed from the preliminary surgical procedure and was able to have the cranium portion reattached, “Emory personnel couldn’t establish Plaintiff Mr. Cluster’s bone flap,” per the court docket submitting.

This will likely not have been an remoted incident, both, because the go well with alleges that when hospital personnel went to retrieve Cluster’s cranium portion, “there have been a number of bone flaps with incomplete or lacking affected person identification.” As such, they purportedly “couldn’t be sure which if any of those belonged to Mr. Cluster.”

In the end, Cluster was allegedly instructed the hospital can be unable to carry out the surgical procedure.

“It’s stunning {that a} medical supplier like Emory would lose a part of one in every of its affected person’s skulls after which refuse to just accept duty,” stated Cluster and his spouse in an announcement despatched to Regulation & Crime over the weekend by legal professional Chloe Dallaire.

On November 23, 2022, Cluster agreed to a distinct process, having an artificial implant flap put in. He’s accusing the hospital of negligence leading to an prolonged hospital keep, in addition to this unplanned process.

All collectively, Cluster’s go well with claims the hospital charged him $19,000 for this extra time he needed to keep within the hospital, in addition to the artificial bone flap itself, and the method to implant it into his cranium.

He was then allegedly charged once more later when the implanted artificial bone flap grew to become contaminated, resulting in one more surgical procedure.

“We now should stay with the results of Emory’s negligence, together with day by day concern about one other an infection in my head and medical prices,” the assertion continued.

“We wish to know if this has occurred to different sufferers to see if they’ve been given an evidence by Emory,” the Clusters stated of their assertion. “Our objective is to ensure this by no means occurs to a different affected person once more.”

Cluster can be claiming he’s unable to work and was each bodily and emotionally impacted by the alleged negligence of the hospital. The go well with claims his medical bills are at the moment at $146,845 because of this incident, and are anticipated to rise.

Cluster and his spouse are suing for damages and compensation from the incident, in addition to particular damages, attorneys’ charges and all different prices to be paid by Emory in the event that they win, per WSB-TV. They’re additional requesting a jury trial.

In response to WSB-TV reaching out relating to this lawsuit, the hospital replied with the next assertion: “Emory Healthcare is dedicated to offering high-quality, compassionate look after sufferers and people we serve in our communities. We don’t touch upon pending litigation.”