In a shocking turn of events, a Michigan woman’s hospital visit for a life-threatening stroke ended in an unexpected and distressing outcome. Edna Burton left the facility not just as a patient in recovery but with a part of her skull missing. This crucial piece was reportedly lost by hospital staff due to a mix-up with another patient of a similar name, according to a lawsuit now filed against the institution. Attempting to rectify the situation, the hospital allegedly offered her a $25 gas card as compensation.

“You threw her bone away,” exclaimed Erica Burton in an interview with NBC affiliate WDIV. She was speaking about the mishap at Detroit’s Ascension St. John Hospital, now operating as Henry Ford Hospital, which resulted in her mother’s skull fragment being discarded in 2023. The incident has left the family seeking more than just monetary compensation; they demand accountability for the distress caused. “It’s not even about the money. You don’t know what you took from us,” Erica Burton expressed, emphasizing the emotional impact on her family, particularly her young children who cherish memories of their grandmother.

The legal action, initiated by the Oliver Bell Group, brought this ordeal into the public eye through a press release outlining the sequence of events. Edna Burton, admitted for urgent stroke treatment, underwent a decompressive right hemicraniectomy—a procedure involving the removal of part of the skull to alleviate brain pressure. The hospital staff was reportedly instructed to preserve the removed skull fragment for reattachment once the swelling subsided.

However, when the time came for reattachment, the medical team discovered to their dismay that the critical piece was missing. The law firm alleges that the hospital had mistakenly confused Burton’s skull fragment with body parts from another patient bearing a similar name. This startling mishap not only raises questions about hospital protocols but also highlights the severe consequences of administrative errors in healthcare settings.

“The surgeon was clear that the skull was to be preserved so it could be reattached after the swelling subsided,” the law firm says. “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.”

As a result, Burton was allegedly forced to receive a prosthetic replacement, which “lacks crucial benefits of the patient’s God-given anatomy,” according to the family’s legal team. Their lawyers say the “chunk” of Burton’s skull was lost after the hospital mistook her for another patient named Edna Brown.

“What should have been a step toward recovery became a frightening ordeal that continues to affect her daily life, health, and safety,” the firm says. “To add insult to injury, the patient was purportedly provided a $25.00 gas card by the hospital in compensation.”

Erica Burton told WDIV that her mom has stopped talking and eating and is now “bed-bound” and suffering from bed sores. “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,” according to Erica Burton.

The family’s complaint, which was obtained by Law&Crime, says her current health state is a direct result of the hospital’s “inability to have her bone flap reattached.” The medical term for the piece of skull that was removed from Burton is “bone flap,” according to the complaint.

The doctor who treated Burton allegedly wrote in his medical notes, “Her brain swelling has gone down and now I recommend replacement of her bone flap using her own bone. However, her bone was lost by the hospital so we are using a prosthetic plate of skull that the hospital paid for as replacement to remplant.”

Henry Ford Health, which reportedly assumed stewardship of Ascension St. John Hospital in 2024, is currently working to have its name removed from the lawsuit and replaced with Ascension.

“Providing safe, reliable, high-quality healthcare for every person who walks through our doors is always our highest priority,” a Henry Ford Health spokesperson told Law&Crime on Thursday. “While we cannot comment on pending litigation, it’s important to point out the alleged activity outlined in this lawsuit occurred more than a year before Henry Ford Health assumed operations of St. John Hospital. At the time the hospital was operated by Ascension Michigan.”

Attempts to reach Ascension for comment on Thursday were unsuccessful.