Atlanta hospital sued for allegedly losing part of a patient’s skull

An Atlanta couple is suing a local hospital that allegedly lost part of one of their skulls after a brain surgery.

A “bone flap” from Fernando Cluster’s skull – along with several more belonging to other patients – lacked identification because Emory University hospital in Atlanta allegedly failed to keep track or properly label it, according to a lawsuit filed against the facility.

Cluster – who had part of his skull removed in September 2022 to treat an intracerebral hemorrhage, or brain bleed – was meant to have the same missing piece put back in place during a later surgery.

However, hospital staff could not locate the 12-by-15-cm bone flap. And the hospital instead had to delay a second surgery scheduled for Cluster so that it could manufacture a synthetic bone flap, which was surgically implanted on 23 November.

The ordeal prompted Cluster and his wife, Melinda, to sue the hospital in Georgia ’s DeKalb county. And their complaint provided an eyebrow-raising account of the mishap, including how Emory had so thoroughly failed to keep track of “several bone flaps with incomplete or missing patient identification” that it could not be certain whether any belonged to Fernando Cluster.

They also could not be sure to exactly whom else the several bone flaps in question – all stored in a freezer – belonged.

Cluster’s synthetic bone flap led to an infection and a longer than planned hospital stay, his and his wife’s complaint said. As a result, he has grappled with “ongoing physical and emotional pain and suffering, and unnecessary medical bills” totaling $146,845.60.

The couple claims Emory charged Cluster for the cost of the synthetic bone flap, the additional time he spent in the hospital, as well as procedures he had to undergo as a result. They also claim Cluster is unable to work and suffers permanent injuries as a result of what the complaint contends was the hospital’s negligence.

A spokesperson for the Emory healthcare told NBC in a statement that the hospital “is committed to providing high-quality, compassionate care for patients and those we serve in our communities”. But the Emory spokesperson declined to comment on the Clusters’ lawsuit, citing a policy against discussing ongoing litigation.