Individual Files Lawsuit Against Medical Facility Claiming Misplacement of Cranial Component
Someone borrows stuff and sometimes loses it, like when I lent out a few books and never got 'em back. But losin' a piece of your skull? Yikes! That's exactly what happened to the poor bloke in Georgia. He loaned a chunk of his cranium to a local hospital for a brain surgery, only for them to lose it.
According to The Washington Post, the unfortunate man, named Fernando Cluster, along with his wife, Melinda, are taking legal action against the Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta. During emergency surgery due to brain hemorrhage, they removed a 4.7-by-5.9-inch skull fragment from Fernando. They were supposed to put it back after the swelling subsided, but well, hospital staff misplaced it.
In their legal complaint, the Fernandos mentioned that the hospital staff couldn't find the right skull fragment as "there were several bone flaps with incomplete or missing patient identification." They ended up patching up Fernando with synthetic material during another surgery, which cost the couple another $19,000. Things got worse when Fernando had an infection from the initial operation, causing yet another surgery. All in all, the couple claims they had to shell out over $146,000.
We reached out to Emory University Hospital for comment, but we're still waitin' on a response. Stay tuned for updates!
- In the future, technology and science may help hospitals prevent losing critical medical fragments like skull pieces to ensure patient safety.
- If the legal case against Emory University Hospital Midtown is successful, it could set a precedent for hospitals to be more careful with patient's belongings such as bone fragments.
- The loss of a skull fragment during surgery not only resulted in emotional distress for Fernando Cluster but also financial losses totaling over $100k.
- In light of the unfortunate event, there should be stricter protocols in hospitals to prevent similar incidents involving the misplacement or loss of patient's medical fragments.
