A Georgia man who underwent surgical procedure two years in the past for a mind bleed and needed to have a part of his cranium briefly eliminated was then charged hundreds of {dollars} after medical workers misplaced the bone and had to make use of artificial supplies to interchange it, his attorneys mentioned.
Fernando Cluster, 62, was initially admitted to Emory College Hospital Midtown in Atlanta on Sept. 30, 2022, and underwent a decompressive hemicraniectomy, a surgical procedure to alleviate stress on the mind, in keeping with a lawsuit filed earlier this month.
The lawsuit states that Cluster’s medical process concerned eradicating a 12-by-15-centimeter portion of his cranium, often known as a bone flap. The bone flap was scheduled to be surgically changed throughout a cranioplasty the subsequent month.
Nevertheless, Emory hospital employees have been unable to seek out Cluster’s bone flap on the time of the follow-up surgical procedure on Nov. 11, 2022, the lawsuit says.
The hospital didn’t instantly reply to HuffPost’s request for a remark and has to date not responded to Cluster’s claims in court docket filings.
Emory hospital workers had positioned the bone flap the day earlier than Cluster’s surgical procedure, however couldn’t discover it when getting ready for the operation the subsequent day, in keeping with Cluster’s medical notes, which his legal professional Chloe Dallaire shared with HuffPost.
“We inspected the freezer where bone flaps are stored and could not find a bone flap with Mr. Cluster’s patient identification,” the notes learn. “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.”
Hospital workers informed Cluster they needed to reschedule his cranioplasty till an artificial implant flap could possibly be made, in keeping with the lawsuit.
Dallaire mentioned her consumer was compelled to stay hospitalized as a result of delay and was charged for his prolonged hospital keep. The surgical procedure finally occurred on Nov. 23, 2022, however Cluster then developed an an infection from the artificial flap and needed to bear a further surgical procedure, the lawsuit says.
Cluster has been charged over $220,000 for medical bills associated to his go to, which embrace the price of the artificial bone flap, its removing after it grew to become contaminated, and the implantation of a second artificial flap, Dallaire informed HuffPost in an electronic mail on Wednesday.
“It is shocking that a medical provider like Emory would lose part of one of its patient’s skulls and then refuse to accept responsibility,” Cluster mentioned in an announcement Dallaire supplied. “We now have to live with the consequences of Emory’s negligence, including daily fear about another infection in my head and medical costs.”
In keeping with his lawsuit, Cluster has suffered bodily and emotional ache and is looking for a trial by jury. The lawsuit additionally names Cluster’s spouse as a plaintiff, saying she has been “deprived of the love, society, companionship, and consortium of her husband.”
Dallaire informed HuffPost that Cluster is recovering from the implantation of the second artificial flap.
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