Lawsuit claims Emory lost part of man’s skull, then charged him $19K to replace it

JASON KANDEL
Aug 17th, 2024, 4:28 pm



Fernando Cluster (Hornsby Law Group)

A hospital lost a part of a Georgia man’s skull and charged him $19,000 for a synthetic skull replacement piece that had to be removed after it became infected, a lawsuit by the patient alleges.

Fernando Cluster, 62, was having surgery for a brain bleed and had to have part of his skull removed last year at Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta. The hospital misplaced a small section of his skull during the procedure and later billed him for it even though it had to be replaced because it became infected, the lawsuit said.

“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 the patient and his wife in a statement emailed to Law&Crime on Saturday by their attorney, Chloe Dallaire, of the Hornsby Law Group.

“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 went on. “We want to know if this has happened to other patients to see if they have been given an explanation by Emory. Our goal is to make sure this never happens to another patient again.”

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