US hospital lost part of patient’s skull, then charged him US$19,000 for replacement
- Added costs from Fernando Cluster’s botched surgery ended up at over US$146,000, which his lawsuit blames on the hospital’s mistake
Fernando Cluster went to Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta, Georgia, with a brain bleed in September 2022. It was serious: they needed to remove part of his skull temporarily, to give his brain space to swell and heal.
But when he went into surgery again six weeks later for surgeons to replace the skull piece – the size of a saucer, about 11.5cm by 15cm (4.5 inches by 6 inches) – the hospital could not find it.
The surgery was cancelled. What came next was several days of waiting, as Emory had to order a synthetic replacement to be produced in the exact shape of the missing piece, called a “bone flap”.
After he received the skull implant, Cluster developed an infection, which the lawsuit calls a known complication that can arise from a synthetic implant.
Cluster and his wife have now filed a lawsuit asking the courts to order Emory to compensate them for injuries and damages. In addition to the cost of his surgery, the lawsuit says Emory has charged US$146,845.60 for things that were a direct result of their mistake. That includes more than US$19,000 for the synthetic skull implant itself.
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
According to documents the Clusters assembled for the lawsuit, Emory doctors added a note to Cluster’s medical file explaining the events of the day his surgery was cancelled: “Although we were informed yesterday by OR [operating] staff that Mr. Cluster’s bone flap was located and ready for replacement, it could not be found today when preparing for surgery.
