Atlanta hospital is accused of losing part of patient's skull following brain surgery

A Georgia couple has filed a lawsuit against an Atlanta hospital after they say hospital staff allegedly misplaced part of the husband’s skull following his brain surgery.

In a lawsuit filed in a DeKalb County, Ga., court, Fernando and Maria Cluster say that staff at Emory University Hospital Midtown caused them “ongoing physical and emotional pain and suffering” and left them with thousands of dollars in medical bills.

Emory Healthcare declined to comment on the lawsuit filed by the Clusters but told NPR in a statement that the hospital system is “committed to providing high-quality, compassionate care for patients and those we serve in our communities.”

The attorney representing the Clusters did not respond to NPR’s immediate request for comment on the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, Fernando Cluster was admitted to Emory University Hospital Midtown in September 2022 after he suffered from an intracerebral hemorrhage — a type of stroke in which there’s bleeding inside the brain.

Cluster underwent emergency surgery to treat the bleeding, which also required removing a portion of his skull, according to the lawsuit. During surgery, doctors removed a 12-by-15-centimeter bone flap with the intent of reinstalling it in a follow-up procedure after Cluster healed from his initial operation, the lawsuit says.

But two months later, when Cluster was scheduled to have his follow-up surgery, the hospital supposedly could not locate the bone flap that was removed.

“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 suit reads.

Emory Healthcare staff told Cluster that his bone flap could not be found and that his second surgery would be canceled until a synthetic bone flap was made, resulting in an extended hospital stay, the lawsuit says. Additionally, the Clusters argue that the installed synthetic flap caused an infection that required yet another surgery.

The hospital billed the Clusters for the synthetic flap, the extended hospital stay and the additional procedure, totaling around $146,800, according to the lawsuit. The bill for the installed synthetic flap alone was more than $19,000, The Atlanta Constitution-Journal reported. It is unclear how much of the bill was covered by their insurance, if at all.

The couple alleges in the lawsuit that Fernando Cluster has been unable to work, has experienced “physical and emotional pain and suffering,” and has suffered permanent injuries due to the hospital’s negligence.

The Clusters’ lawsuit does not detail the specific amount they seek but states they seek both “general and special damages.” The couple demanded that the hospital compensate them for damages following a jury trial.