A Detroit family is taking legal action against Ascension St. John Hospital after alleging that medical staff lost a portion of a woman’s skull following brain surgery — and mistakenly mixed it up with another patient’s bones.
According to ClickOnDetroit, the lawsuit was filed in Wayne County Circuit Court after Edna Burton’s family said the hospital informed them that her skull fragment was missing months after a critical surgery. Burton, who had worked at the same hospital for over 20 years, underwent a hemicraniectomy in June 2023 to relieve pressure following a stroke. The procedure took place in the same operating room where she had spent decades assisting other patients.
Hospital Allegedly Mixed Skull With Another Patient’s Bones
The family’s lawsuit claims that the hospital mixed up Burton’s skull fragment with another patient’s bones, identified as Edna Brown. When doctors were ready to perform a second surgery to reattach Burton’s skull piece, the staff admitted that it was missing.
The hospital reportedly offered Burton’s family a prosthetic replacement instead, but her health began to decline after it was implanted. “She stopped talking, really, stopped eating, like bed-bound, she had bed sores,” said Burton’s daughter. “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.”…