DETROIT (WKRC) – A hospital allegedly lost a fragment of a woman’s skull after mixing up her body parts with another patient, and attempted to solve the situation with a $25 gas card.
Edna Burton went to Ascension St. John Hospital on June 14, 2023 for a stroke that required a decompressive right hemicraniectomy, a procedure that would require part of the skull to be removed to relieve pressure on the brain, according to the Oliver Bell Group, who is representing the family, and local outlet WDIV.
“The surgeon was clear that the skull was to be preserved so it could be reattached after the swelling subsided,” a release from the Oliver Bell Group to PR Newswire read. “When that time came, the medical team made a shocking discovery. The hospital had actually lost a piece of the patient’s skull. The patient was told that the hospital mixed up her skull with the body parts of another patient who had a similar name.”
The patient was given a prosthetic replacement and a $25 gas card as compensation for the mistake, the Oliver Bell Group said.
The family reportedly filed a lawsuit against the hospital and seeks full compensation to support Burton’s medical needs and wellbeing.
“Our client deserved dependable medical care during a life-threatening emergency,” said attorney Alyson Oliver. “Instead, she suffered an avoidable and life-changing injury due to simple negligence.”
“She stopped talking, really, stopped eating, like bed-bound, she had bed sores,” Burton’s daughter, Erica, told local outlet WDIV. “Her physical therapist said, ‘I’m not going to continue to do physical therapy because we’re torturing her with how much pain she’s in.'”
“They could say that it all, what she’s going through stemmed from the stroke – how do we know?” Erica said. ““You threw her bone away. You didn’t even give her the chance.”
Attorney Cameron Bell said the hospital suggested that Burton would actually be better off with the artificial skull, which Bell called “asinine.”