OAKLAND (CN) - A woman with a fractured skull claims her Kaiser hospital never told her or her family that her doctors had committed medical malpractice by dropping a fragment of her skull during surgery. The surgeons fixed her skull with plastic.

     Doctors at Kaiser Redwood City contaminated the carefully preserved piece of her skull by dropping it on the floor, Diane Parks claims in Alameda Superior Court.

     Upon realizing the error, Parks says, the doctors told her relatives that the fragment had been dropped, and gave them several options about to how to proceed.

     Parks says her relatives chose to have a Porex plastic flap substituted for the contaminated fragment, but only because they were not informed of Kaiser's alleged negligence.

     "It was not until the medical records were obtained and reviewed by a medical doctor in September 2010, that the plaintiff learned of the negligence, medical or common law, and of the resulting injuries," the complaint states.

     Parks says Kaiser never responded to a letter sent from her attorney, offering to settle for $215,000.

     Now she demands arbitration of her request for damages for malpractice and breach of contract.

     She is represented by Victor Zilinskas of Santa Barbara.

The Kaiser Papers