Can you imagine discovering that a hospital not only misplaced a crucial part of your skull but then charged you nearly $20,000 for a replacement?
That’s the unsettling reality for one Georgia man, who’s now taking legal action against an Atlanta hospital for allegedly losing a 28-square-inch piece of his skull and then billing him for the synthetic replacement when they couldn’t find it.
According to the New York Post, Fernando Cluster checked into Emory University Hospital Midtown back in September 2022 for an intracerebral hemorrhage (brain bleed).
After being examined by doctors and having multiple tests performed, it was determined that a 4.7-by-6-inch piece of his skull needed to be removed to reduce the pressure on his brain and skull.
However, when Cluster returned to the hospital two months later to have the missing piece of his skull replaced, the hospital allegedly couldn’t find it amidst a pile of other unidentified bone fragments from other patients’ bodies.
“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 in Cluster’s medical file stated. “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.”
Left with a gaping hole in his skull and with nothing to fill it with – the removal created a significant depression on the right side – Cluster’s surgery was postponed while the hospital fabricated a synthetic skull piece to implant into Cluster’s head.
By late November, the replacement had been inserted into Cluster’s head, but the hospital charged him over $19,000 for the synthetic bone to replace what they had allegedly misplaced.
But this was just the beginning of Cluster’ nightmare.
Following the synthetic bone replacement surgery, Cluster developed an infection, requiring another surgery and leaving him temporarily unable to work.
By the end of it all, his medical expenses topped $146,800 – and the hospital didn’t offer him and 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 afterwards,” Cluster’s attorney Chloe Dallaire said in a statement.
The couple is now seeking to have the hospital compensate them for medical expenses and emotional damages.
We’ll keep you updated as this story develops, and more details emerge.
