A patient at a US hospital has accused the facility of negligence after his medical team allegedly misplaced part of his skull following brain surgery, forcing him to pay thousands of dollars for a synthetic prosthesis.
In September 2022, Fernando Cluster was rushed to Emory University Hospital in Midtown Atlanta for surgery after suffering a brain hemorrhage, NBC News reported Sunday.
But to do this, doctors removed part of his skull, a piece measuring 12 cm by 15 cm, which they would normally replace a few weeks later during a second surgery.
Except that when D-Day arrived the following November, doctors were reportedly unable to find the missing part of Fernando Cluster’s skull, according to the American media outlet.
“When Emory staff went to retrieve the bone portion, ‘there were multiple bone portions with incomplete or missing patient identification’ and, as a result, Emory ‘could not be certain which of them belonged to Mr. Cluster,'” the lawsuit reportedly noted.
The patient was thus forced to extend his hospital stay while a synthetic skull piece was prepared – at a cost of US$19,000 added to his bill – to replace the missing part, he alleged according to NBC News.
What’s more, the new bone allegedly caused an infection, requiring a third surgery, pushing medical costs to a total of “over $146,845.60 (US),” or the equivalent of more than $200,950 CAD, according to the court document.
The man and his partner, Maria Cluster, have filed a civil suit seeking damages from the hospital for its negligence, stating that beyond the permanent injuries, neither would have been able to work during this long period.
The amount claimed was not specified in the court document, according to the American media.
