Emory Hospital Accused of Negligence After Losing Patient’s Skull Bone And Issuing $146K Bill

Emory Hospital is currently under fire after reportedly losing a patient's bone skull flap and then charging him to have it replaced.

Emory Hospital is under fire after losing part of a patient’s skull bone and then charging him for the inconvenience.

When Fernando Cluster first arrived at Emory University Hospital, located in Atlanta’s Midtown neighborhood on September 30, 2022, he prepared to undergo surgery that required physicians to remove part of his skull temporarily. After being diagnosed with an intracerebral hemorrhage, a stroke that causes bleeding in the brain, doctors informed his loved ones of his need to receive a decompressive hemicraniectomy. This procedure required the removal of a 12-centimeter by 15-centimeter piece of his skull to “allow his brain the space it needed to swell and heal during surgery.”

On November 11, 2022, Cluster was supposed to undergo a cranioplasty, a re-implantation procedure that would put the bone flap back into his brain. However, physicians reportedly lost his bone flap somewhere between the removal process and preparation to return it during his subsequent surgery.

Instead, Cluster’s family received a message in his MyChart, the platform Emory Hospital uses to communicate with its patients, stating that the bone flap “could not be found” as physicians were preparing for his surgery.

“We inspected the freezer where bone flaps are stored and could not find a bone flap with Mr. Cluster’s patient identification,” read the note written by Neurosurgeon Matthew Agam, MD. “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.”

In a lawsuit filed by Cluster’s family on August 8, 2024, his attorney reported that he had to wait nearly two weeks to receive a newly manufactured synthetic implant flap. He then did not undergo the cranioplasty until November 23, 2022, and following the procedure, his family claims they received a bill for $146,845.60. The charges included the price of creating the synthetic flap and extra time spent in the hospital, which his family and attorney argue was not his fault.

“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,” said Chloe Dallaire of the Hornsby Law Group, the attorney representing Cluster on behalf of her patient and his wife.

Moreover, Dallaire said that Cluster would need another surgery, due to an infection in the implant, and has not been able to work since.

“We now have to live with the consequences of Emory’s negligence, including daily fear about another infection in my head and medical costs,” the statement continued. “We want to know if this has happened to other patients to see if they have been explained by Emory. Our goal is to make sure this never happens to another patient again.”

At this time, the lawsuit alleges that Cluster suffered emotionally, financially, and physically at the expense of Emory’s neglect.