Fernando and Maria Cluster, a couple who live in Georgia, have filed a lawsuit against an Atlanta hospital for allegedly losing part of Fernando Cluster’s skull after brain surgery, NBCNews reports. They say Emory University Hospital Midtown lost part of the skull after removing it because “multiple bone flaps” were not identified.
The couple accuses the staff of negligence that led to an extended hospital stay as well as physical and emotional harm, according to the complaint filed in DeKalb County. An email seeking comment from Emory Healthcare representatives went unanswered Sunday. A spokesperson for Emory Healthcare told CNN only that the institution does not comment on pending litigation.
An intervention that goes back to 2022
In September 2022, Fernando Cluster went to Emory Healthcare Hospital because he was suffering from an intracerebral hemorrhage, which is bleeding in the brain. To treat the bleeding, Fernando Cluster had to undergo emergency surgery that included the removal of part of his skull, according to the lawsuit.
Doctors removed a 5-by-5-inch bone flap and planned to put it back in place during another surgery a few weeks later, according to the complaint. But in November 2022, when Fernando was scheduled for his follow-up surgery, the hospital reportedly struggled to find the bone flap.
But where is the piece of skull?
When hospital staff went to retrieve the skull piece, “there were numerous bone flaps with incomplete or missing patient identification,” and therefore the facility “could not be certain that any of these strips belonged to the Fernando Cluster,” the complaint states.
It was therefore necessary to insert a synthetic bone flap, which significantly extended his stay in hospital. The couple claims the synthetic flap also caused an infection that required further surgery. As a result, the patient faced “medical expenses in excess of $146,845” after being billed for the synthetic valve and extended hospital stay, in addition to his surgical procedures, according to the lawsuit.