Accidental Circumcision--That's Gonna Cost You Some Skin

Reporter Fred Tasker at the Miami Herald has the following report about the South Miami Hospital and doctor who accidentally circumcised a local newborn.   Ouch.  You bet, it's going to cost a few dollars:

"[M]ario Viera (pic, right--not Mario, but isn't he cute!, since it is the 56th anniversary of my circum....well, you permit me license)-- was accidentally circumcised without [his Mom's] consent at South Miami Hospital when he was 8 days old.  [The Mother is asking]`How could this happen?'  No male in her family has been circumcised for years, Mrs. Delgado sa[ys.]  `I didn't want this for him. I'm opposed to circumcision. They didn't have the right to do it.'

The hospital has said it is `deeply sorry' and vowed to take steps to prevent the mistake from happening again, but Delgado says that's not enough. She filed suit against the hospital Monday and a criminal battery report with South Miami police Wednesday.

The case of the accidental circumcision quickly created controversy: Delgado's attorney was invited to speak at a national conference on crime victims and has been contacted by media as far away as the United Arab Emirates and anti-circumcision groups, including a local organization planning a demonstration at the hospital Friday.

`It's a big deal,' Delgado said Wednesday, in her attorney's office. `In the future, he's going to ask why his dad is one way and he's different.'  Delgado says she signed no consent form for the circumcision, and told doctors and nurses she didn't want it. The hospital said it misread a consent form.

Her Coral Gables attorney, Spencer Aronfeld, filed a civil personal injury lawsuit against the hospital in Miami-Dade Circuit Court Monday, claiming unspecified damages, and a civil battery suit against Dr. Mary Jean Pazos, who Aronfeld said performed the circumcision. Pazos could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The baby at the center of the dispute is still less than 2 months old. Mario Viera was born at South Miami Hospital July 24, and kept in the intensive care unit so doctors could fight an infection, Delgado says. On Aug. 2, she says she entered his hospital room and noticed a vial lying beside him in his bed. A nurse told her it was Tylenol for the pain from his circumcision.

The hospital later apologized in a prepared statement: `The baby's circumcision was an unfortunate mistake caused by a misread consent form. As soon as the error was discovered, the doctor and nurses let the family know what had occurred. We also immediately implemented new processes to ensure this mistake will not occur again. The procedure itself was performed following appropriate surgical guidelines and the baby didn't have any complications. Nevertheless, we're all deeply sorry that this happened.'

Male circumcision dates to antiquity, especially among Jewish and Muslim groups. Today, many medical groups take a neutral position on it.

In the United States, infant male circumcision peaked in the 1960s at about 75 percent and has dropped to under 60 percent today, according to the National Health and Social Life Survey and other sources. Newer studies suggest rates may have fallen to as low as 33 percent, said Dr. Lee Sanders, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

`As a practicing pediatrician, my rates have dropped steadily ever since 1999, when the American Academy of Pediatrics changed its position from positive to something more neutral,' he said. The AAP website today says: `Scientific studies show some medical benefits of circumcision. However, these benefits are not sufficient for the AAP to recommend that all infant boys be circumcised.' The American Academy of Family Physicians website takes a similar position: `Studies about the benefits of circumcision have provided conflicting results. The AAFP believes parents should discuss with their son's doctor the potential benefits and the risks involved when making their decision.'

NOCIRC South Florida, a local anti-circumcision group, plans an all-day demonstration Friday at South Miami Hospital, according to member Enith Hernandez. The group's website, www.asnatureintended.info, calls infant circumcision `very painful'' and ``not medically necessary.'

Georganne Chapin, president of Intact America, another anti-circumcision group that has contacted Aronfeld, said her group opposes the procedure even for religious purposes.  `Nobody has the right to remove a healthy body part from another person,' she said. `Babies are not born with a set of religious beliefs.' The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has added to the controversy by initiating a process to come up with its own recommendation about infant male circumcision -- with hints it might become more favorable to it because research has shown it can reduce the risk of HIV infection during sex.

Aronfeld, who spoke on the topic of circumcision at the annual conference of the National Center for Victims of Crime in New Orleans on Tuesday, said he is trying to not to express his own opinion on the procedure. But he added: `So many people are opposed to circumcision,'  he said. `I think there's a groundswell here.'"
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The last post on circumcision garnered quite a few comments and I appreciated the education I received on the subject, and the debate. 

This was boneheaded.  The hospital and doctor involved need to look at their checklist policies and figure out where they misfired.

Botched Circumcision

Yes, that's right two words that no guy likes to hear in immediate juxtaposition to one another. 

Reporter,Ty Tagami at the Atlanta Jounal Constitution alerts us to the $11 million dollar verdict for the infant who sustained an injury arising out of device used in this common procedure.  This is from the AJC story:

The maker [Mogen] of an instrument used in circumcisions claimed that injury was impossible with its use, but after an infant lost a portion of his penis during an operation with the Mogen clamp (pic), a judge awarded $10.8 million in damages against the company.
The judgment handed down Friday in New York involves an Atlanta lawyer who has been crusading against circumcision as a dangerous and unnecessary practice.  Attorney David Llewellyn won a similar case in Atlanta last year and the injury behind that prior lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court put the New York clamp manufacturer on notice about the danger of the device, his current lawsuit said.

The baby in the current case, identified in court documents only as L.G., lost the entire glans, or head, of his penis after it was pulled into the jaws of the clamp, according to a federal magistrate's order. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Jack B. Weinstein ordered Mogen Circumcision Instruments of New York to pay $10.8 million in compensatory and punitive damages to the Florida boy, now 3, and his parents.

The company is going out of business, according to a woman who answered the phone at its Brooklyn headquarters Monday. The woman, who said she was a secretary and would identify herself only as D. Rotter, the person whom Llewellyn said was served papers in the lawsuit. She said increased competition has undermined their business.

'It's just kind of dwindling down to nothing,' she said, adding that the phones at the Mogen office were scheduled to be disconnected Tuesday. Mogen didn't defend itself in court, and Rotter said it was because the company couldn't afford it. She said the Mogen clamp is 'painless and safe' when used properly. The case involving the Florida boy was 'unfortunate,' she said, adding that 'any medical mishap is unfortunate.'

In this case, a New York mohel, or Jewish ritual circumcisor, performed the operation in the baby's home, Llewellyn said. The mohel negotiated a separate settlement, the terms of which Llewellyn would not disclose. Llewellyn won another circumcision case in 2009 over an operation at South Fulton Medical Center. In that case, which involved a baby identified only as D.P. Jr., the mother contended that the doctor who circumcised him removed too much tissue and that his pediatrician failed to respond when a nurse complained of excessive bleeding. The tip of the penis was placed in a biohazard bag and might have been reattached if he'd gotten attention in time, Llewellyn said in 2009. His lawsuit in New York says D.P. Jr. lost a third of his glans. The jury found that both the pediatrician and the physician who performed the circumcision were negligent, and awarded $2.3 million to the plaintiffs. South Fulton Medical Center was absolved of liability.

In Friday's decision, the court determined that Mogen had to pay for medical expenses and for the years of psychotherapy that will be needed. The boy suffers pain when he urinates, the court order says. He will eventually be able to have sex, but he is likely to be embarrassed and will likely have trouble forming 'meaningful' relationships with girls, it adds. 'At 3 years old, L.G. is aware that he looks different from other boys based on both his own observations and comments from other children which make him feel inferior .'
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Wow, talk about an unusual "specialty" Mr. Llewellyn developed. 

I'd be interested in whether tort law provides a remedy for female victims of genital mutilation. It's not something I've looked at or considered, but I invite your views on the subject. 

This is an extraordinarily difficult subject because of the profound religious and cultural significance of these practices.  While I have an opinion on nearly everything, this is one area where I know so little and can add very little insight.  Maybe you can help me sort out some ways of thinking about the subject?

Two Words No Man Likes to Hear: Botched Circumcision

A year or more, ago, the Bad Lawyer blawg featured a couple of posts on botched circumcision verdicts and lawsuits.  This morning the ABAJournal blawg reports on confirmation of a $4.6 million dollar verdict in California for a botched circumcision.  This "approval" by the court was necessary because of a defense challenge based on legislated malpractice caps.

I was planning to revisit this subject because of the proposed San Francisco ban on circumcision which is much in the news due to an ACLU lawsuit disputing the constitutionality of the proposed ban based on religious freedoms.