That’s not the sort of thing I would want to hear as I was being prepped for surgery to replace a portion of bone flap that had been removed — supposedly temporarily — during an earlier procedure. For me, having already undergone surgery to repair an intracerebral hemorrhage — more commonly known as a brain bleed — would have been quite enough trauma, thank you.

But this is precisely what happened to Fernando Cluster beginning in September of 2022, when he was admitted to Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta, Georgia. To relieve the pressure on Mr. Cluster’s brain, the surgeon removed a portion of his skull — measuring around 4.7 inches by 5.9 inches — and had it set aside for replacement once the patient had healed.

Apparently the surgery and Mr. Cluster’s recovery went well, because in November of that year, he was scheduled for the cranioplasty (fancy name for reimplantation of the bone flap). But when the hospital personnel went to retrieve the piece of skull from wherever it is they store such things, they found that “there were several bone flaps with incomplete or missing patient identification,” and that therefore, they “could not be certain which if any of these belonged to Mr. Cluster.” [Ashley R. Williams, CNN, August 17, 2024.]

And therein lies the basis of what I can only assume is a whopping big lawsuit. Mr. Cluster and his wife Melinda have now sued the hospital and unnamed staff members for negligence, claiming “extensive damages, including ongoing physical and emotional pain and suffering, and unnecessary medical bills.” [Id.]

Needless to say, the surgery had to be postponed while arrangements were made to have a synthetic implant flap created. This was inserted in late November . . . and Mr. Cluster was billed for the cost of the synthetic flap and for the extra time he had to stay in the hospital.

Holy crap! They actually billed him for it . . . ??!!!

But wait . . . there’s more. Mr. Cluster subsequently suffered an infection in the synthetic flap, necessitating yet another surgical procedure. According to an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Mr. Cluster’s medical expenses totaled more than $146,800, of which more than $19,000 was attributable to the synthetic flap implant. [Id.]

The complaint further states that Mr. Cluster has been unable to work as a result of having “suffered permanent injuries.” All I can say is that I’d never make it onto that jury, because my mind is already made up.

And one other thing I’m sure Emory Hospital — and their attorneys — have already had to deal with: those “several [other] bone flaps with incomplete or missing patient identification.” I wonder what happened to the owners of “dem bones.” *

[* From the spiritual song by James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson, 1928.]

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/19/24