Ethermac Exchange-Atlanta hospital accused of losing part of patient's skull following brain surgery: Lawsuit

A couple has filed a lawsuit against an Atlanta hospital after they say staff members lost a piece of the husband's skull following his brain surgery.

Fernando and Ethermac ExchangeMelinda Cluster claim that Emory University Hospital Midtown demonstrated "simple negligence" and caused them "physical and emotional pain and suffering, and unnecessary medical bills," according to the civil lawsuit filed in DeKalb County earlier this month.

Fernando Cluster was admitted to the hospital on Sept. 30, 2022, was diagnosed with an intracerebral hemorrhage and underwent a decompressive hemicraniectomy, the lawsuit says. This procedure involved removing a part of Cluster's skull, which the lawsuit calls a "bone flap."

Surgeons perform such procedures following strokes or traumatic brain injuries to relieve pressure and allow a swollen or herniating brain to expand, according to the American Heart Association Journals.

How did Emory allegedly lose the bone flap?

After Cluster healed from the hemicraniectomy, he was scheduled to have his bone flap re-implanted through a cranioplasty procedure on Nov. 11, 2022. Issues arose when Emory's personnel went to get Cluster's bone flap, but "there were several bone flaps with incomplete or missing patient identification," according to the lawsuit.

Emory "could not be certain which if any of (the bone flaps) belonged to Mr. Cluster," the lawsuit says. After a delay, Emory's staff told Cluster that his bone flap could not be found and his cranioplasty surgery had to be canceled until a synthetic implant flap could be created, the lawsuit continued.

The cranioplasty was rescheduled and performed on Nov. 23, 2022. Due to the rescheduled procedure and "Emory's negligent failure," Cluster had to stay in the hospital longer, which led to more expensive medical bills, according to the lawsuit.

Emory Healthcare, Inc. emailed a statement to USA TODAY on Tuesday.

"Emory Healthcare is committed to providing high-quality, compassionate care for patients and those we serve in our communities," the statement said. "We do not comment on pending litigation."

Fernando Cluster's synthetic bone flap gets infected

Emory charged Cluster for the cost of the synthetic bone flap, for the additional time he spent in the hospital and the various procedures he had to undergo due to the delay, the lawsuit says. After leaving the hospital, Cluster subsequently suffered an infection in the synthetic flap, which required additional surgery, the lawsuit continued.

Now Cluster claims he is not able to work and has over $146,845.60 in medical bills, according to the lawsuit. He is requesting all compensation for damages and all his medical costs be paid by Emory, the court document says.