DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A Georgia man is suing Emory University Hospital and accusing them of negligence after he said they lost a piece of his skull.
Fernando Cluster was a patient at Emory University Hospital Midtown on Sept. 30, 2022, while undergoing treatment for an intracerebral hemorrhage, more commonly known as a brain bleed, which is commonly caused by high blood pressure.
According to Cluster’s lawsuit, while he was being treated for the bleed, he underwent a procedure in which surgeons removed a 12- by 15-centimeter portion of his skull, which his attorney refers to as a “bone flap.”
That size is just a little smaller than a standard bottle of water.
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While Cluster was healing from the procedure, he was supposed to have the bone flap re-implanted.
Instead, while Emory “personnel” were getting Cluster ready for the implant procedure on Nov. 11, 2022, they were unable to retrieve the piece of skull for his surgery.
“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 lawsuit claims.
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After a delay, Cluster and his wife were told they could not perform the surgery because the hospital could not find the missing portion of his skull, the lawsuit says.
Cluster and Emory instead chose to use a synthetic implant flap instead and, ultimately, Cluster had the surgery on Nov. 23, 2022.
Cluster is now accusing Emory of negligence because they allegedly lost a piece of his skull, which led Cluster to stay at the hospital longer and to him needing a synthetic material put into his skull instead of his own bone.
Emory also charged Cluster for the cost of the synthetic bone flap and the additional time in the hospital and procedures he underwent. The bills added up to $19,000.
The lawsuit by Cluster also says the synthetic flap caused an infection, which then required further surgery. All of this was also charged to Cluster.
The lawsuit claims that Emory failed to exercise ordinary and reasonable care in providing medical services to Cluster and failed to follow appropriate standards and procedures for the storage of Cluster’s bone flap, causing injury to Cluster both physically and monetarily.
Cluster’s wife is also named in the lawsuit, which seeks damages for her “loss of love, society, companionship and consortium of her husband” due to the injuries they say were caused by Emory’s alleged negligence.
Grant Law Office says a loss of consortium is a difficult claim to prove and cannot be used for recovering missed wages or medical costs due to injury. The law firm described a loss of consortium, in part, as a consideration of “how a spouse’s injuries affect their ability to provide sexual intimacy, company, aid, friendship, and cooperation in marriage.”
The lawsuit also claims that Cluster is unable to work, was physically and emotionally injured and suffering as a result of the accused negligence of Emory and that he has built up medical expenses as much as $146,845 due to the incident, with those costs continuing to rise.
Together, the Clusters are seeking damages and compensation from the incident and special damages, as well as attorneys’ fees and all other costs, to be paid by Emory if they win. The Clusters have requested a jury trial on all claims and issues in their lawsuit.
Channel 2 Action News has reached out to Emory University for comment. They sent us a statement Friday evening, saying: “Emory Healthcare is committed to providing high-quality, compassionate care for patients and those we serve in our communities. We do not comment on pending litigation.”
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