HILO >>A Hawaii man has filed a lawsuit against a hospital over the loss of a whale tooth necklace that has been in his family for generations.

The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported Sunday that attorneys representing Alejandro Tejada filed the lawsuit May 9 against Hilo Medical Center.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages.

The lawsuit says Tejada suffered a stroke in September 2018 and was treated at the Big Island hospital, where a staff member preparing him for a CT scan removed and did not return the necklace made of a sperm whale tooth and valued at more than $100,000.

A risk management officer denied Tejada’s claim for the necklace in April, saying it was returned to his wife.

The hospital says it cannot comment due to patient privacy law.