Couple sues hospital after doctors allegedly lose part of patient’s skull during surgery
Gerrard Kaonga
Featured Image Credit: John E. Davidson/Getty Images / BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
A couple are suing an Atlanta hospital, accusing it of losing part of a patients skull after removing it for life-saving surgery.
Fernando Cluster was suffering from an intracerebral hemorrhage (essentially bleeding into the brain) back in 2022 and required surgery.
This emergency and life-saving surgery was designed to removed a portion of his skull for a period of time.
September that year, doctors removed a 12 by 15 centimeter bone flap with the intention of securing it back into place with a second surgery a few weeks later.
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However, according to a new lawsuit, filed in DeKalb County, Georgia, when it came to the second surgery in November, things didn’t go to plan.
The hospital allegedly struggled to find the bone flap.
Fernando and his wife Maria Cluster are accusing the staff at Emory University Hospital Midtown of negligence, allegding that this led to an increased hospital stay as well as physical and emotional damage.
A spokesperson for Emory Healthcare said in a statement it does not comment on pending litigation but ‘is committed to providing high-quality, compassionate care for patients and those we serve in our communities.’
The suit alleges: “When Emory’s personnel went to retrieve the bone flap, ‘there were several bone flaps with incomplete or missing patient identification’ and therefore, Emory ‘could not be certain which if any of these belonged to Mr. Cluster.”
The family have alleged that this ultimately resulted in Cluster needing a synthetic bone flap. To make matters worse, it also ended up getting infected so the patient required another surgery, according to the suit.
With all these surgeries and extended hospital stays, Cluster has had an increase in medical expenses, 'in excess of $146,845.00'.
The lawsuit doesn’t state an amount the couple is seeking but makes clear the couple are after both general and special damages.
Speaking to 11 Alive, the couple’s lawyer Chloe Dallaire emphasized the couple’s frustrations and fears going forward.
She said: “They got various contradictory messages about why surgery was postponed and ultimately they were told that they had lost and misplaced a part of his skull.”
She added: “It is mind-blowing, literally.
“Due to a simple act of negligence, something that was entirely preventable, he has to live the rest of his life in fear of getting an infection in his brain and in his skull."
UNILAD has contacted Emory University Hospital Midtown for comment.