A Georgia man is suing an Atlanta hospital after staff allegedly lost a nearly 28-square-inch piece of his skull following a routine procedure, and then billed him for a synthetic replacement when they couldn’t find it.
Fernando Cluster reportedly checked into Emory University Hospital Midtown in September 2022 for an intracerebral hemorrhage, commonly known as a brain bleed. Doctors determined that a 4.7-by-6 inch piece of his skull needed to be removed to reduce pressure, according to an Aug. 8 complaint obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
However, when Cluster returned to the hospital two months later to have the piece of skull replaced, the hospital staff couldn’t locate it amidst a pile of unidentified bone fragments from other patients.
“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. “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.”
With a large depression on the right side of his skull and nothing to fill it, Cluster’s surgery was canceled while the hospital fabricated a synthetic piece of skull.
By the end of November, the synthetic replacement had been inserted into Cluster’s head, but the hospital charged him over $19,000 for the synthetic bone to replace the piece they had allegedly lost.
Cluster’s ordeal was far from over. After the synthetic bone was inserted, he contracted an infection and required additional surgery, leaving him unable to work for a period of time.
By the end of his ordeal, Cluster’s medical bills totaled over $146,800, and the hospital allegedly never offered him or 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 afterward,” Cluster’s attorney Chloe Dallaire told the Journal-Constitution.
Cluster and his wife are seeking compensation from the hospital for medical bills and emotional damages.
Source: https://www.lindaikejisblog.com
