Circumcision Deaths and Botched Circumcisions – Circumcision Tragedies

Below is a list of known circumcision tragedies, from the earliest to the most recent. There are, no doubt, other circumcision tragedies that have never become public knowledge.

“Commonly doctors pronounce infant circumcision a `simple operation

with few risks.´ However, the risks are many and can be devastating and

tragic . . . When viewed in terms of individuals and families involved

in these tragic events — particularly when the operation is

unnecessary — the risks are quite significant.” [Rosemary Romberg,

author of the book CIRCUMCISION- THE PAINFUL DILEMMA, Bergin & Garvey

Publishers, Massachusetts, 1985.]

Courtesy of Petrina Fadel



CIRCUMCISION TRAGEDIES– Known Circumcision Deaths, Botched

Circumcisions, and Unauthorized Circumcisions in the United States and Canada

Julius Katzenstein, 8 days old, bled to death after a ritual

circumcision performed by Dr. Abrams, December 14, 1856- New York, NY.

http://www.circinfo.org/USA_deaths.html

“The first known reported circumcision-related deaths were in New York City, where circumcision was introduced. The first was Julius Katzenstein in 1856 and the second was one-week-old Myer Jacob Levy in 1858. Both boys were circumcised by a Dr. Abrams, and the same coroner reviewed both deaths. The coroner found that Abrahams had performed the surgeries properly, and that the boys died from blood loss as a result of parental neglect. Neither boy had received a follow-up examination.” Dan Bollinger, from Lost Boys: An Estimate of U.S. Circumcision-Related Infant Deaths, available at: https://www.academia.edu/6394940/Lost_Boys_An_Estimate_of_U.S._Circumcision-Related_Infant_Deaths

_______________________________________________________

Myer Jacob Levy, 8 days old, bled to death after a ritual circumcision

performed by Dr. Abrams, April 18, 1858- New York, NY.

http://www.circinfo.org/USA_deaths.html

April 23, 1858

(section: Police Intelligence)

Death from Circumcision

Coroner Hills held an inquest yesterday at the Sixth Ward Stationhouse, in the case of the child whose death from circumcision was announced in Thursday’s Times. The child, Myer Jacob Levy, (whose parents reside at No. 63 Baxter street,) being eight days old, was circumcised on Sunday

last by Dr. Abrams, of Bleecker street, who performed the operation in the usual manner. A few hours afterwards it was discovered that the bandage was displaced and that the child was bleeding profusely. Dr. Abrams was recalled, but his efforts to stop the hemorrhage were ineffectual. The verdict was; “Death from convulsions, superinduced by

loss of blood following circumcision; further we find that the

operation was rightly performed.”

(Online Archives of the New York Times)

_______________________________________________________

Baby Boy Greisman died November 29, 1903 following a ritual

circumcision by Isaac Halpern. Bleeding was profuse, and Halpern applied carbolic acid, which caused acute disease of the kidneys.

http://www.courtchallenge.com/refs/history4.html

1903 – Dec. 1

JEWISH INFANT’S DEATH The Globe

Toronto, December 1, 1903, p. 12.

Body will be exhumed for an inquest

Child of Louis Greisman died after circumcision-Jacob Halpern performed the operation.

AN INQUEST, which it is expected will have far-reaching results, will be opened to-night at police headquarters on the body of the infant son of Louis Greisman. The child died on Sunday night at 49 Chestnut Street and was buried yesterday in the Jewish Cemetery on Pape avenue. This morning Chief Coroner A. J. Johnson will apply to the Attorney General for an order permitting an undertaker to exhume the remains. Had the

remains not been buried the inquest would have been opened last night.

Chief Coroner Johnson will himself conduct the inquiry.

The report on the case made to the Chief Coroner by Dr. Walter McKeown states that Jacob Halpern, a butcher at 59 Chestnut Street, was called in by the father on Sunday to perform the Jewish rite of circumcision.

After the operation bleeding was so profuse that Halpern applied

carbolic acid, with the result that the child died in terrible agony.

Dr. McKeown, who was called in a short time before the infant’s death, refused the death certificate and referred the whole matter to Chief Coroner Johnson.

1903 – Dec. 2

BABY GREISMAN’S DEATH The Globe

Toronto, December 2, 1903, p. 12.

Isaac Halpern applied too much carbolic acid

Was ignorant of its use-claims to be a rabbi-had 23 years’ experience as a circumcisor.

THE DEATH of baby Greisman was investigated last night by Chief Coroner A. J. Johnson and a jury, who sat for over three hours. The body was viewed at Millard’s undertaking rooms, and, after Dr. McKeown had been examined, an adjournment was made to the Police Court. H. H. Dewart, K.C., represented the Crown.

Dr. Walter McKeown explained to the jury that he issued the burial certificate. Death was due to acute disease of the kidneys caused by the excessive use of carbolic acid. He was present at the birth of the child and at the circumcision. The day after the operation he was called in again to see the child and attended the infant until death occurred on Sunday night. Dr. McKeown thought that Isaac Halpern’s attempt to treat the child without a sufficient knowledge of antiseptics caused the death.

Rabbi Jacobs of the Holy Blossom Synagogue pointed out that under the Jewish law circumcision has to be performed the eighth day after birth.

He described at length the mode of operation which had been in

existence for 3,000 years. The Chief Rabbi of the British Empire twelve years ago formulated a set of rules for the guidance of circumcisors.

In Canada there is no special training. All that is required is that

the circumcisor be a conscientious Jew.

Isaac Halpern, who performed the circumcision, told the jury how he did the operation on baby Greisman. He had 23 years’ experience and never had a death before. Although he had no certificate to act, he believed that he was full qualified. He had performed three operations last week and had a like number for this week. Halpern declared that he was a

Rabbi. When there were very few Jews in Toronto he performed the marriage ceremony and other duties of a Rabbi. At the present time he kills all the cattle for his congregation to see if the meat is fit food.

Dr. John Caven, who conducted the autopsy, said that the condition found in the body was consistent with death from carbolic acid poisoning, the poison having been applied externally.

The jury’s verdict was as follows: “That the child came to his death from the excessive application of carbolic acid, and that Isaac Halpern was culpably ignorant of the use of carbolic acid.”

_______________________________________________________

Baby Boy Rosenweig´s Death- April 1926

NY Times Archives

April 24, 1926

Deaths of Two Babies Laid to Brandy Given To Quiet Them in a Brooklyn Hospital

Suspicion that a mixture containing impure brandy resulted in the

deaths of two children in the Brooklyn Maternity Hospital, 298 South Second Street, Brooklyn, caused the Medical Examiner to have the bodies removed to the Kings County Morgue last night, where an autopsywill be performed today by Dr. Martin.

The children who died were a girl, born three days ago to Mrs. Ida Cooper of 276 South First Street, Brooklyn, and the eight-day-old son of Mrs. Abraham Block, to whom some of the mixture was also given,became ill yesterday afternoon and was taken home.

The Block baby was circumcised on Wednesday evening by Rabbi Gustav Spund of 322 East Third Street, Manhattan. The child was fretful andthe rabbi gave him a drink of brandy, water and sugar to quiet him.

Miss Lillian Reynolds, a nurse, asked the rabbi what the mixture

contained and he told her and explained why he had given it.

Miss Reynolds said that on Wednesday night when the Cooper and Rosenweig children became fretful she gave them a drink similar to

that given by the rabbi to the Block baby. All three children became ill on Thursday afternoon.

The Cooper girl developed convulsions and Dr. Medelowitz of 496

Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, the family physician, was summoned for the girl and Dr. Blaustein of 371 Rodney Street, Brooklyn, was called forthe Rosenweig baby. Neither physician gave the babies any medicine.

Later in the night both babies died. Frank Dematto, superintendent of the hospital, on learning of the circumstances, notified the MedicalExaminers’ Office and an autopsy was ordered.

Rabbi Spund said last night that he got the brandy which he gave to the Block baby. He said the practice of giving such stimulant from the hospital’s supply was common.

April 25, 1926

Doubts Babies Died of Whisky Pacifier

Brooklyn Medical Examiner Finds No Traces of Disease–Analysis for Poison to Be Made.

Dr. M. E. Martin, Medical Examiner in Brooklyn, performed autopsies yesterday upon the bodies of two children who died on Thursday in the Brooklyn Maternity Hospital, and announced that he thought it

extremely unlikely that the babies had died from a mixture of whisky and water and sugar given to them at the hospital. However, chemical analysis will be made for traces of any poisonous element.

The children were a five-day-old daughter of Mrs. Nathan Cooper of 276 South First Street, and a son, eight days old, of Mrs. Max Rosenzweig [sic] of 170 Clymer Street, both of Brooklyn. Miss Lillian Reynolds, a nurse at the hospital, said she had given the mixture to the children as a pacifier, at the suggestion of Rabbi Gustav Spund of 322 East Third Street, Manhattan.

Dr. George Ruger of the District Attorney’s office was present at theautopsies performed in the morgue at King’s County Hospital. Dr. Martin found no traces of disease in the bodies. He did find, he said, that hypodermic injections, probably of adrenalin, had been given to both children, just over the heart, possibly to stimulate the heart action when death was imminent. The hospital kept no record of medication, he said.

May 1, 1926

[sic] Finds Paraldehyde Killed Two Infants

Deaths in Brooklyn Hospital Not Due to Brandy, Bellevue Toxicologist Says.

A paraldehyde sleeping potion and not brandy caused the death of an infant girl and an infant boy in the Brooklyn Maternity Hospital last Thursday, according to an announcement yesterday by Dr. Alexander O. Gettler, toxicologist at Bellevue, who made a chemical analysis of the infants’ organs.

The infants, a three-day-old girl born to Mrs. Ida Cooper of 276 South First Street and an eight-day-old boy, son of Mrs. Ellen Rosenzwei [sic], became ill at the same time that another child, the ten-day-old son of Mrs. Abraham Block, took sick. Rabbi Gustav Spund circumcised the Block baby and gave him a mixture of brandy, water, and sugar to quiet him. A nurse in the hospital administered a similar dose to the two other children when they became restless. The Block [baby]

recovered but the two other infants died the next day.

Dr. Gettler said the organs of both children contained a large amount of acetaldehyde, derived from paraldehyde. He did not believe the alcohol could have caused the deaths because only a small quantity of brandy had been administered and the infants had lived for twenty-four hours. The alcohol, he said, would work itself off in that time.

Dr. M. E. Martin, Medical Examiner of Brooklyn, submitted the finding to District Attorney Dodd, who said last night that he would not make any statement concerning the case until today.

_______________________________________________________

08/21/1927 BALDWIN, Michael Julian 4 days Hemorrhage following circumcision; was circumcised on August 20 afternoon and died during the early morning of August 21.

http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:M78npQkLCwIJ:www.monroe.lib.in.us/indiana_

room/coroner.pdf+rabies+county+coroner+monroe&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=

firefox-a

Coroner’s Reports 1896 – 1935 Monroe County, Indiana

_______________________________________________________

Roland Albert McCarty, infant boy, death by infection beginning in

circumcision wound, 1932, Jacksonville, FL

Personal Account by Van Lewis of Florida: Roland Albert McCarty was the baby brother of the Rev. Barnum McCarty, a retired Episcopal priest from Jacksonville, Florida, whom I have known since my childhood in the 1940´s and 1950´s. In the early 2000´s, Barnum told me the story of his brother’s death. Roland Albert died as a result of an infection that

started in his circumcision wound. Barnum said that his mother “never got over it.”

_______________________________________________________

http://www.circumstitions.com/news/news35.html

Bruce Wechsler was severely injured by a staph infection following infant circumcision in 1957. He has endured 14 operations and had half of his brain removed.

New hospice center to serve severely disabled

By Stacey Burling Inquirer (Philadelphia) Staff Writer

Elwyn, a Delaware County nonprofit that provides services for people with disabilities, is embarking on its first major new building in 19 years.

The building will have Bruce Wechsler’s name on it.

His parents, Alan and Laura Wechsler of Center City, see Bruce Wechsler Hall as a way for their son, who was severely disabled as a child by a staph infection, to be remembered. It will house 36 people who need intensive medical care when it opens next summer.

“Everybody makes their mark in life, and we wanted him to be able to make his mark in life,” said Laura Wechsler, who at 75 still works as a psychotherapist. “This hall is something that will carry his name and be important for a lot of people.” Alan Wechsler, now retired, owned Cherry Hill Photo.

The Wechslers gave the lead donation – $1 million – for the $11.5 million project, which will house people with physical and cognitive disabilities such as mental retardation and cerebral palsy who need significant nursing care. Many will be older, but some may be young people who are ailing or dying, said Sandy Cornelius, Elwyn’s president. Elwyn will provide hospice services.

Cornelius said the first residents would be people already living at

Elwyn, but the facility eventually could serve people from other

agencies. Advocates believe too many people with mental retardation are in nursing homes.

“There is no hospice program that’s really welcoming to this

population,” Cornelius said. The new hall “may end up becoming a

regional center for certain kinds of conditions.”

Cornelius said people with disabilities live much longer now than they used to and need a new kind of facility. The new building on Elwyn’s Media campus will have two 18-unit wings with wider-than-usual halls and doorways. There will be extensive space for family visitation, treatment, and dining.

When Bruce Wechsler arrived at Elwyn at age 8, there were bars on the windows.

Born healthy, he developed a staph infection after his circumcision. The infection spread through his blood to his brain. He had to have 14 operations, including one that removed half his brain.

His mother estimates that his brain operates at the level of a first grader, but he has far more sophisticated social skills. Alan Wechsler described his son as happy and outgoing.

When he was younger, Bruce Wechsler could run and play basketball. Now 52, he needs a wheelchair and is paralyzed in one arm but is not yet sick enough to move to the building that will bear his name.

“I think that he’s going to have to eventually move into that

facility,” his mother said.

Contact staff writer Stacey Burling at 215-854-4944 or

sburling@phillynews.com

_______________________________________________________

Walter Joseph Witkoski, Jr., was severely injured by infant

circumcision in 1965. His family received a $733,000 damage award on May 7, 1974 in Baltimore, Maryland. Walter would be 46 years old today.

May 8, 1974

$733,000 Damage Awarded Boy in Faulty Circumcision

Baltimore, May 7 (AP)– A Superior Court jury has awarded $$733,000 in damages to an 8-year-old Baltimore boy who was the victim of faulty circumcision in 1965.

The jury of eight men and four women deliberated less than one and a half hours yesterday before awarding the damages to Walter Joseph Witkowski Jr. The boy’s mother, Virginia Witkowski, was awarded an additional $1,300 damages for medical expenses.

The verdict was against the estate of Dr. Leon Greenwald, an

obstetrician and gynecologist who died in 1968.

(Online Archives of the New York Times)

_______________________________________________________

Chino Burrell, 7 months old, died by circumcision on June 9, 1974 at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. He was circumcised for a tight foreskin, which is normal in infancy. If Chino were still alive, he´d be 37 years old today.

http://www.courtchallenge.com/refs/gm1975.pdf

W2 THE GLOBE AND MAIL, THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 1975

Kitchener Inquest

Baby´s heart stopped during circumcision

Special to The Globe and Mail

KITCHENER- Doctors at South Waterloo Memorial Hospital in Cambridge had to revive an infant on the operating table last spring after his heart stopped during a circumcision operation.

A coroner´s inquest was told yesterday that the 7-month-old boy´s heart was restarted by external massage and breathing induced by aerating his lungs. But Chino Burrell, son of Mr. and Mrs. Reginald Burrell of Cambridge, died three days later in the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

There was no testimony on the first day about the cause of death. The inquest continues this morning.

The baby was taken to the Cambridge hospital June 6 for circumcision, which was recommended by the family doctor, Dr. Lea M. Amog. She said the foreskin was tight enough to warrant the operation, described by the hospital´s chief of surgery, Dr. James E. De Roche, as a “minor operation” usually incurring little risk.

Dr. De Roche said that after he applied the clamp that draws the

foreskin into position for surgery he was advised by anesthetist Dr. Ross Howson that the patient´s heart had stopped. The child had been under anesthetic about 15 minutes.

Specialists in the hospital were called while Dr. De Roche massaged the boy´s heart area and Dr. Howson forced oxygen into his lungs.

Dr. John Wa, a baby specialist, testified that he opened a vein on the infant´s wrist, to inject an alkalyne solution to balance acididic condition that results from a shortage of oxygen in the blood.

Dr. De Roche told Coroner J. M. Campbell of Kitchener and the jury that he finished the operation, “though the lungs didn´t take over with a good deep breath.”

Dr. Howson used the anesthetic fluothane, a variety of halothane.

Dr. De Roche said outside the inquest that the chief coroner´s office has been discouraging the use of the drug since it might affect the liver when used over a prolonged period.

The baby was given an injection of atrophine about an hour before the operation started. Dr. Howson said the drug is used to reduce saliva secretions but has a side effect of speeding up the heart.

Another drug also was used, Anectine, a muscle relaxant that allows the insertion of oxygen tubes down the infant´s throat without causing the usual automatic gag spasms over the vocal chords.

But he said this drug has the side effect of slowing down the heart, occasionally “to the point of arrest.”

_______________________________________________________

This boy was “sex-changed” to a girl after his botched circumcision in 1973. $850,000 in damages was awarded in late October or early November 1975 in Seattle, Washington. “She” would be 38 years old today.

November 2, 1975

Family Is Awarded $850,000 for Circumcision Accident

Seattle, Nov. 1 (UPI)- The family of a 3-year-old girl who was born a boy has been awarded $850,000 for medical malpractice during a circumcision.

The military doctor performing the operation when the baby was five months old burned the central area so badly during the circumcision, normally a routine operation, that specialists eventually advised changing the child’s sex to female, testimony in the two-day trial this week before Judge Walter McGovern of Federal District Court revealed.

Judge McGovern, noting that the child had undergone eight operations to date and faced several more as she matured, expressed concern for the child and her parents in awarding damages.

The child received $750,000 of the judgment and the parents $100,000.

Compensation also was ordered by Judge McGovern for the child’s medical bills, which exceed $30,000.

(Online Archives of the New York Times)

_______________________________________________________

If Christopher Dolezal were alive today, he´d be 28 years old.



http://www.cirp.org/news/desmoinesregister11-20-82/

THE DES MOINES REGISTER, Des Moines,

Saturday, November 20, 1982.

Grand jury to probe death of baby after circumcision

By PETER RACHTER

Register Staff Writer

A Polk County grand jury will decide if anyone is to blame for the

bleeding death of a Des Moines infant 10 days ago, a city police

official said Friday.

Lt. Ed Harlan said a police investigation into the death

three-month-old Christopher Dolezal, who died after excessive blood loss following a circumcision, showed that the child’s parents might have used “poor judgment.” But he said it would be up to grand jurors to decide if criminal charges should be filed.

Family members have declined to comment on the baby’s death.

The child was circumcised at the East Des Moines Family Health Care Center at 840 E. University Avenue on Nov. 8 two days before his death.

Despite heavy bleeding, the child’s parents Frank T. and Katherine Dolezal of 2535 Clarkson Ave., did not seek hospital treatment until about 1 a.m. Nov. 9. By that time the child had gone through more than 20 bloody diapers, according to the Polk County medical examiner’s office.

On Friday, a deputy medical examiner said an autopsy revealed that the infant had suffered four broken ribs and a broken right arm before death. Dr. Emmanuel Lacsina said some of the broken bones had healed.

Others were in various stages of healing, he said.

Lacsina said he doubted that the injuries occurred during the child’s premature birth. Family members said the baby was not circumcised shortly after birth, as is customary, because he was born prematurely.

Lacsina said he had hoped that microscopic examinations of the child’s liver would turn up a clue on why he bled extensively after what normally is a simple surgical procedure. Lacsina said individuals with liver problems sometimes have blood-clotting problems, too. But the tests revealed no abnormal condition or disease, Lacsina said.

The infant’s aunt, Norma Fitch, told reporters that the family

understood the child’s doctor to say there would be bleeding for about

45 hours.

But Dr. Harold Moessner, who supervises the clinic residency program, denied that any physician would have made such a statement. Moessner on Friday declined to comment further or to reveal the name of the

physician who performed the circumcision.

_______________________________________________________

Jacob Sweet should be 25 years old today.

http://www.cirp.org/news/2000.03.08_Sweet/

Wednesday March 8, 6:30 pm Eastern Time

Company Press Release

SOURCE: Johnson Flora

Betrayed by Doctors and Lawyers in Alaska, Sweets Find Justice Through Seattle Malpractice Attorney

SEATTLE, March 8 PRNewswire — Johnson Flora today issued the following statement:

When Jacob Sweet was born at Providence Hospital in Anchorage, Alaska in January 1986, it was a dream come true for his parents, Beverly and Gary. But their dream took a nightmarish turn only nine days later when they took their son back to the hospital for treatment of an infected circumcision and the hospital returned a severely brain-damaged and

blind child. The nightmare continued for 13 years and included“lost” medical records and an Alaska lawyer who claimed to be an experienced

medical malpractice attorney, but who had never tried a malpractice case. This is the story behind a major legal malpractice settlement

announced today between a Bothell, Wash., family and the Alaska law firm that handled the Sweet’s medical malpractice lawsuit against Providence Hospital of Anchorage and the pediatrician who treated Jacob for the infection.

The settlement ends a 13-year battle for the Sweets who were forced to fight for their son in the court system on two occasions. First, they sought justice from the hospital and doctor who allegedly caused Jacob’s injuries, and who then “lost” the medical records critical to

proving Jacob’s case. Then, after Alaska lawyer Alan Sherry mishandled the Sweets’ medical malpractice case, they were forced to once again resort to the courts to get justice for Jacob.

Seattle attorney Mark Johnson represented the Sweets in the legal malpractice suit, arguing the Sweet’s first attorney misrepresented himself as a seasoned malpractice lawyer and then failed to properly try the Sweets’ medical negligence case. The Sweets had hired Sherry to sue Providence Hospital of Anchorage for negligent care of Jacob during his hospital stay.

The amount awarded to the Sweets is confidential as part of the

settlement agreement.

“This has been tragedy at every turn for this family,” Johnson said.

“First the healthcare system devastated their child. Then, when the Sweets most needed an aggressive, experienced and competent lawyer, an attorney with no malpractice experience misled them and failed to properly try the case. That cost them their opportunity to recover damages from the hospital and the pediatrician,” he added.

The Underlying Medical Malpractice Case

The Sweet’s tragedy started on January 25, 1986, in Anchorage, Alaska, when they brought their nine-day-old son Jacob back to Providence Hospital after he exhibited signs of an infected circumcision. Jacob was admitted to the pediatric ward and displayed seizure activity for 24 hours, but their pediatrician, Dr. Daniel Tulip, was absent most of the time and failed to refer Jacob to a neonatologist until after Jacob

had suffered the brain damage that would leave him physically

devastated, developmentally delayed, and utterly dependent for the rest of his life.

Injustice Served Twice

The Sweet’s calamity compounded when the Alaska law firm they hired to try their medical malpractice suit improperly handled the case.

According to Johnson, the lawsuit hinged on the fact that Jacob’s medical records disappeared shortly after this tragic episode in the hospital, suggesting that someone was trying to cover up a negligent act. Sweet’s first legal team failed to present this evidence properly, although they had key witnesses prepared to present the opinion that the records must have been intentionally destroyed, claims Johnson. The Sweets lost the suit, and with it all hope of recovering damages from

the hospital that would cover the costs of lifelong care for Jacob’s severe injuries.

Racked with guilt and with mounting medical bills, the Sweets hired Mark Johnson to represent them in an action for legal negligence, because of his dual experience in medical and legal malpractice cases.

“To me the Sweets are heroic figures,” Johnson said. “In order to right a terrible wrong — the catastrophic injury to their son — they confronted two of society’s most powerful institutions: the medical system and the legal system. They fought for 13 years until they prevailed.”

Legal malpractice cases are difficult to prove, because the plaintiff must not only prove the defendant attorney was negligent, but that the client would have won the case if the attorney had acted differently, according to the International Association of Defense Counsel.

“This brings some peace-of-mind to our lives, although we are still convinced that Jacob’s doctor and the hospital have never told the truth,” said Beverly Sweet. “At least now we can provide for Jacob’s medical care and future.”

Mark Johnson is the co-owner of Johnson Flora, a legal and medical malpractice firm in Seattle. Johnson has significant experience in representing children and families who have been harmed as a result of preventable birth and neonatal injuries and is listed in the book “The Best Lawyers In America” for his work in legal malpractice law.

CONTACT: Rhenda Meiser of Firmani & Associates, 206-443-9357

206-443-9357 or 206-443-7546 206-443-7546 , for

Johnson Flora.

[For photographs of Jacob Sweet, see:

http://www.sexuallymutilatedchild.org/sweet.htm]

_______________________________________________________

This boy should be 29 years old today.



http://www.cirp.org/news/1986.05.28_lawsuit/

LAKE CHARLES AMERICAN PRESS, Lake Charles, Louisiana,

Wednesday, May 28, 1986.

FAMILY GETS $2.75 MILLION IN WRONGFUL SURGERY SUIT

by Vincent Lupo

American Press Staff Writer

The family of a young boy, whose penis had to be amputated after it was severely burned during a routine circumcision performed at a state-run hospital, was awarded $2.75 million by a jury in 14th Judicial District Court.

Jurors made the award against the State of Louisiana Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) and the LSU Board of Supervisors. The family of the boy asked that they not be named.

According to testimony during the week-long civil trial before Judge L. E. Hawsey Jr., the boy who was 2 years old at the time, was to undergo a routine circumcision at W. O. Moss Regional Hospital on February 2, 1984.

A third-year surgical resident undergoing training through the LSU medical program supervised the operation in which an electrosurgical instrument manufactured by Valley Lab of Boulder, Colo., was used. The device, commonly used to stop bleeding during surgery, can cut tissue through heat transmitted by an electric current.

During the surgery which was actually performed by another resident under the supervision of the surgical resident, the boy´s penis was severely burned. Internal damage to blood vessels apparently also occurred and kept vital oxygen from reaching the tissue of the organ, which had to be removed later after the child was transferred to a New Orleans hospital.

Doctors in New Orleans strongly suggested that the parents allow them to perform a sex change operation on the toddler, but they refused. The boy´s urinary tract was rerouted during several subsequent surgeries both here and in New Orleans, and he now urinates through a hole located where his penis had been.

His parents sued the state and Valley Lab. Neither doctor was named as a defendant. The family claimed the manufacturer of the surgical device failed to adequately warn doctors of the harm which could be caused by the instrument.

The trial was bifurcated which means a portion was decided by Judge Hawsey and portion was decided by the jurors. Because juries are composed of citizens of the state, jurors are not allowed to decide any suit or part of a suit naming a state agency as defendant.

Therefore Judge Hawsey determined the liability of the state, while the jurors decided the liability of Valley Lab.

While jurors deliberated on their verdict, Judge Hawsey rendered his decision against the state. He found both DHHR and the LSU Board of Supervisors liable in the case.

The judge awarded a total of $18,969 in special damages to the boys parents for medical expenses and $100,000 in general damages, and $1.73 million to the victim.

In his oral ruling, Judge Hawsey said he felt Valley Labs was not

negligent in providing warnings about the surgical instrument.

Jurors, however disagreed and determined Valley Lab was 30 percent responsible for the injuries to the child.

The juries awarded the boy a total of $2.75 million.

Local attorney David A. Fraser, who represented the family, said the higher figure awarded by the jury is considered the amount of the judgement.

Since the state has a $500,000 limit stipulated by state law regarding its insurance coverage, Valley Lab apparently must assume the payment of the remainder. However, Valley Lab can attempt to recover 70 percent of that remainder since jurors found that defendant only 30 percent liable, Fraser said.

The attorney said he feels certain the defendants will appeal the

decisions to higher courts.

_______________________________________________________

If Steven Christopher Chacon were alive today, he´d be 24 years old.

http://www.cirp.org/news/sfexaminer11-28-86/

San Francisco Examiner, Friday, November 28, 1986: Page B-17.

Parents charged

An unwed couple whose garbage-strewn apartment allegedly caused the death of their 15-day-old son have been charged with felony child

endangerment and involuntary manslaughter, a Los Angeles prosecutor says. Lori Ann Needham, 20, and Christopher Tomas Chacon, 22, were charged Wednesday after the death of Steven Christopher Chacon, who died in his crib three days after being circumcised, Deputy District Attorney Kenneth Loveman said. He said the baby died from “exposure to filth,” which infected the unhealed circumcision. Chacon, an auto

mechanic, and Needham were originally booked for investigation of felony child endangerment and released on bail. But the additional involuntary manslaughter charge was filed Wednesday after further investigation, Loveman said.”

_______________________________________________________

Antonio and “Baby Doe” (who underwent a sex change) were severely

injured by circumcision in 1985. They should be 26 years old today.

http://www.cirp.org/news/1991.03.12_Atlanta_lawsuit/

ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, Atlanta, Georgia,

Tuesday, March 12, 1991.

$22.8 MILLION IN BOTCHED CIRCUMCISION

By Charles Seabrook

Staff writer

Northside Hospital will pay $22.8 million to a boy severely injured in a circumcision accident at the hospital nearly six years ago, attorneys for the child said Monday.

However, Northside spokeswoman Karen Koch denied that a final

settlement had been reached and declined to comment further.

The child, who is not 5 years old, had his penis severely burned in a mishap in August 1985. His attorneys said he will never be able to function sexually as a normal male and will require extensive reconstructive surgery and psychological counseling as well as lifelong urological care and treatment by infectious disease specialists.

A second infant who underwent a circumcision at Northside on the same day also was severely injured. That child, known as “Baby Doe” underwent a sex-change operation shortly after the accident, and “consequently is now a female person, who has been rendered sterile and completely incapable of reproduction,” said a lawsuit filed in the child’s behalf. That lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount,

Northside officials said.

Thomas G. Sampson, attorney for the first child, named Antonio, said Northside has agreed to pay the child $22.8 million in several

installments over the next several years.

Mr. Sampson said he did not know why Northside has denied that the case has been settled.

“It’s settled, I can guarantee you that,” said Mr. Sampson, who added that the settlement was approved Friday in DeKalb County Probate Court.

The settlement is one of the largest even in a medical malpractice lawsuit in Georgia, he said. The parents of the child already had settled with the doctor who performed the circumcision, and Mr. Sampson said the total amount of money in the case is in excess of $23.8 million.

The circumcision occurred at the hospital on the day the boy was born. Mr. Sampson and fellow attorneys alleged violations of hospital protocol and the use of inappropriate equipment for the circumcision.

The hospital’s usual equipment for circumcision was out of service the day the infant was born, and doctors instead used an electrosurgical unit “that was contraindicated for use” in infant circumcisions, the lawsuit alleged.

Antonio already has undergone several operations, and a series of reconstructive operations, now under way, are expected to continue for at least nine years until he is 15 years old, his attorneys said.

http://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/08/science/a-circumcision-method-draws-new-

concern.html?pagewanted=all

October 8, 1985

Of the type of injury that occurred in Atlanta, Dr. George A. Kaplan, a pediatric urologist in San Diego, said, ”I am aware of about six or eight cases.” There does not appear to be any general reporting system for these injuries so there is no real way of knowing how many more cases, if any, have occurred.

Last year, a court in Georgia awarded $5 million to the family of an infant in Sylvester, Ga., who was similarly burned four years ago in a circumcision procedure involving an electrocautery device.

More recently, a 1976 article in The Journal of Pediatric Surgery

discussed the reconstruction of the penis of a 3-year-old child who suffered third-degree burns in a circumcision procedure using an electrocautery needle.

_______________________________________________________

If Allen Ervin were alive today, he´d be 25 years old.

http://www.cirp.org/news/1992.07.10_boy-dies/

THE STATE, Columbia, South Carolina, Page F21, July 10, 1992.

BOY IN COMA MOST OF HIS 6 YEARS DIES

The Associated Press

Spartanburg, South Carolina. A boy who was in a coma for more than six

years while a legal battle raged around him has died. But the legal

fighting will continue.

Allen A. Ervin was born in July 1985 and had been on life support since

December 1985, when his brain was damaged from oxygen deprivation

during circumcision.

He died at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center on Wednesday, three

weeks before his 7th birthday. Doctors said he suddenly suffered severe

heart problems, his mother, Stacey Stroble, said.

The Anesthesiologists who attended to Allen during the circumcision

settled the case for $435,000 and agreed to lifetime payment of his

medical bills.

Spartanburg County Probate Court officials are overseeing the estate.

Lawyer Charles Rice, who is in charge of investing the money, says a

judge will have to decide who gets it.

It angers Stroble, 21, who has two young daughters, that she may have

to hire another attorney to file a claim for her son’s estate.

“The money’s not my concern right now,” she said. “But I have to pay

for the funeral. I don’t think that’s right.”

Allen’s medical problems began when oxygen was pushed into his stomach,

instead of his lungs, court records showed. Anesthesiologists inserted

a tube into the baby’s stomach to relieve the pressure but administered

three times the recommended dosage of a drug to slow his abnormally

high heart rate, stopping it.

He was revived 30 minutes later but never regained consciousness,

although Stroble said Allen’s eyes and head often followed the voices

of people visiting him in his hospital room.

The legal problems began before that, however.

Stroble was 14 years old and unmarried when she gave birth to Allen. At

the request of her mother, Maggie Ervin, a Family Court judge in

October 1985 placed both mother and child in the custody of the South

Carolina Department of Social Services.

The custody disputes and guardianship fights went through seven state

and federal courts, including the state Supreme Court and the U.S. 4th

Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.

___________________________________________________________________________

If Demetrius Manker were alive today, he´d be 18 years old.

http://www.cirp.org/news/1993.06.21_death/

BABY BLEEDS TO DEATH AFTER CIRCUMCISION

Miami, June 26, 1993

The Miami Herald reported the death of 6 month old Carol City baby,

Demetrius Manker. Manker bled to death after being circumcised.

“I can’t express the way it has affected me emotionally,” the child’s

mother, Louise Manker, said. “It’s something I’ll never get over. This

was my last child.” A Miami pediatrician circumcised 25-pound Demetrius

Manker in his office. After his mother took him home, she saw he was

bleeding from the incision.

Manker subsequently called the doctor several times, according to their

attorney, Patrick Cordero.

“One of the instructions was that she put Vaseline around the penis

area to stop the bleeding.” Cordero said, “she followed the

instructions to the letter.”

Louise Manker’s sister grew so alarmed by his continued bleeding that

she called paramedics, Cordero said. He was pronounced dead at the

hospital.

An autopsy showed that his liver and other organs had gone pale from

the loss of blood, said Dade [County] Chief Medical Examiner Dr.

Charles Wetli.

“The message to get across is that this is weird, unusual,” Wetli said.

“I’ve done close to six thousand autopsies and this is the first I’ve

seen where a baby died from circumcision. It’s probably the safest

procedure you could think of.

An autopsy revealed a seemly normal circumcision, Wetli said.

The doctor who performed the surgery, Robert D. Young, said the

circumcision had gone well. “I would not have let him go home if I

didn’t think so. Medical examiners will confirm the soundness of the

operation.

Authorities say they will try to determine if the baby suffered from

some rare disease that prevented his blood from coagulating. It’s also

possible that Louise Manker did not understand the extent of the

bleeding, especially because a baby has a fraction of an adult’s blood

supply, Wetli said.

“There’s two parts to the story,” the deputy medical examiner said, Why

was the child bleeding? And secondly what was the level of

communication if the mother said he’s bleeding but didn’t say how much.

__________________________________________________________________________

William Stowell is just one of many men who wish they could sue their

circumcisers for their “normal” circumcisions.

See: http://www.sueeasy.com/class_action_detail.php?case_id=258

http://www.cirp.org/news/mndnewswire04-29-03/

MEN’S NEWS DAILY, April 29, 2003.

Doctor and Hospital Settle Circumcision Lawsuit

Stage Set for Men to Sue for Being Circumcised as Infants

SUFFOLK COUNTY, New York – After a two-and-a-half year legal battle

with Plaintiff William G. Stowell, the doctor and hospital have settled

the landmark circumcision case brought against them. The terms of the

settlements have not been publicly disclosed. Twenty-one-year old

Stowell filed suit December 19, 2000, in the U. S. District Court for

the Eastern District of New York, against the hospital where he was

circumcised and the physician who circumcised him as a newborn.

Stowell, born on December 22, 1981, in West Islip, NY, was circumcised

the following day by his mother’s obstetrician. This case presented the

issue of the legal validity of consent for circumcision obtained by a

nurse from a mother who was debilitated by the effects of a Caesarian

section and painkillers. It also questioned whether a physician could

legally and ethically remove healthy, normal tissue from a

non-consenting minor for non-therapeutic reasons.

David J. Llewellyn, one of Plaintiff Stowell’s attorneys, said,

“William and I are very happy that we were able to resolve this case

with both the hospital and the doctor. While a settlement is never an

admission of liability, I believe it shows that our allegations were

taken seriously. Never again can someone say that a young man who is

dissatisfied with his circumcision as an infant is being frivolous when

he objects to his mutilation and brings suit to obtain justice. This

case should send a message to doctors that they run the risk of a

lawsuit each time they circumcise an infant for non-therapeutic

reasons, particularly when they rely on the hospital to obtain consent

the day after birth. Social or cosmetic concerns provide no

justification for harmful surgery. I would expect that this is just

the first of many cases that will be brought by angry circumcised young

men against their circumcisers.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) first acknowledged that there

was no medical justification for routine circumcision in 1971. In 1999,

the AAP reaffirmed that it does not recommend routine circumcision.

The American Medical Association concurred in 2000, calling routine

circumcision “non-therapeutic.” No national or international medical

organization recommends routine circumcision.

http://books.google.com/books?id=-

IMk5TXEdWQC&pg=PA79&lpg=PA79&dq=unauthorized+circumcision+lawsuits&source=bl&o

ts=wxUkKCVQDZ&sig=JzDxN1q0AT8t8ntEue5nDOjKUEk&hl=en&ei=IESsTdT7KJTqgQfN2OnzBQ&

sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q&f=false

Flesh and blood: perspectives on the problem of circumcision in

contemporary society- By Frederick Mansfield Hodges, Marilyn Fayre Milos

“Penile Torts in the Courts” – David Llewellyn, Chapter 6, pages 69 – 79.

“Since the presentation of this paper, the William Stowell case was

settled out of court and William Haynes became the second

eighteen-year-old male to file a lawsuit against the doctor and

hospital for having circumcised him.”

There is information about two unauthorized circumcision lawsuits from

1963 and 1967 under REFERENCES – 2.

___________________________________________________________________________

This African-American boy should be 17 years old today.

http://www.cirp.org/news/lawyersweekly12-08-03/

MASSACHUSETTS LAWYERS WEEKLY, Boston, December 8, 2003

Verdicts & Settlements

Circumcision Is Botched, Repair Never Recommended

$1.26 Million Settlement

On Sept. 3, 1994, two days after the birth of a healthy,

African-American baby boy, the defendant pediatrician visited the

child’s parents and offered to perform an elective circumcision. While

the mother was initially reluctant, she claimed that she was ultimately

persuaded by the defendant that circumcision was medically advisable.

The plaintiff alleged that the defendant never mentioned or noted any

pre-existing condition or anomaly that added any additional risk to the

circumcision procedure. The defendant reportedly assured the parents

that he had successfully performed numerous circumcisions in the past

without incident.

On Sept. 3, 1994, the defendant performed an elective neonatal

circumcision on the minor using a Mogen clamp.

During the procedure, the defendant inadvertently amputated a portion

of the minor’s glans penis. The defendant attempted to repair the

damage by closing a portion of the glans with three 5-0 chromic

sutures. As a result, the minor sustained a loss of tissue on his glans

penis, measuring 5 by 4 millimeters.

The plaintiff alleged that the defendant did not request or otherwise

recommend surgical repair by a pediatric surgeon, which, the

plaintiff’s expert was prepared to testify, would likely have improved

the cosmetic result and reduced the degree of resulting hypospadias.

Type of action: Medical Malpractice

Injuries alleged: Partial amputation of tip of glans penis

Name of case: Withheld

Court/case #: U.S. District Court (case no. withheld) Tried before

judge or jury: N/A (settled)

Name of judge: Michael A. Ponsor

Amount of settlement: $1.26 million structured settlement (present day

value of $550,000 cash) Date: Aug. 5, 2003

Attorneys: Eric J. Parker and Susan M. Bourque, Parker Scheer, Boston

(for the plaintiff)

______________________________________________________________________________

If Jeremie Johnson were alive today, he would be 20 years old.



http://www.cirp.org/news/1995.07.28_HoustonChronicle/

HOUSTON CHRONICLE, Friday, July 28, 1995, page 28A

BOY’S DEATH TO BE PROBED

Physician is suspended

by Lydia Sum and Ruth Sorelle

Saying they fear a “serious and immediate threat to public health,”

Texas Department of Health Officials sought permission Friday to

investigate the death of a 5-year-old boy after a circumcision.

Meanwhile, Doctor’s Hospital-Airline has suspended the anesthesiologist present during the July 18 circumcision, pending outcome of a peer review investigation and final autopsy of Jeremie Johnson.

The boy died Tuesday after a week in a coma and on life support.

Dr. T. Jose Tovar was suspended July 18, said Doctor’s Hospital

spokeswoman Jan Haines.

Family members said they brought the boy to the hospital that day for

the 30-minute procedure but he stopped breathing afterward and had to be resuscitated.

A secretary for Tovar said the physician declined comment. Haines

called the suspension routine in such instances.

Dr. Tovar has had many good years at this hospital,” she said. “He has

always been in good standing here and many know him in his field.”

In Austin, spokeman David Vaughn said TDH officials asked the federal

Health Care Finance Administration, which oversees Medicaid payments to find out why the boy died.

The heath department’s bureau of heath care quality and standards and the HCFA share responsibility to monitor patients’ treatment in Texas hospitals, Vaughn said.

He says he expects the investigation to begin early next week.

The boy’s mother, British Gaines, expressed frustration Friday at the

lack of explanation as to why he went into a coma.

Preliminary autopsy results only described the boy’s medical condition

when he was transferred to Texas Children’s on July 18, Gaines said.

Final results are not expected for another eight weeks.

“It’s very sad because I was thinking we’d actually find out something,

but there are just these big, medical terms that don’t tell us anything

we don’t already know,” said Gaines, 23.

In recent years, fewer boys have been circumcised because of

conflicting medical opinion as to its necessity. But in some cases,

medical conditions make it necessary.

Gaines said she thought the procedure on her son was successful until

Dr. Michael Morris, who performed the circumcision told her the boys

heart had stopped and he had resuscitated him.

Johnson was immediately transferred to Texas Children’s, where he was

in intensive care until his family decided to have him removed from a

respirator Tuesday.

Gaines said Morris visited her son at Texas Children’s to examine the

result of the circumcision. She said Tovar also visited them at Texas

Children’s on July 18.

He said he was sorry, that he didn’t know what happened, and patted me

on the back,” Gaines said.

Tovar graduated from medical school in Bogota, Colombia, according to

the Texas Board of Medical Examiners and has been licensed in the

United States since August 15, 1970. Board records show no disciplinary

actions against him.

FAMILY AWAITS AUTOPSY REPORT

by Lydia Lum and Ruth Sorelle Autopsy reports may be released today

explaining why a 5-year-old boy died this week after a circumcision.

Doctors at Texas Children’s Hospital removed Jeremie Johnson from a

respirator Tuesday, said Brenda Gaines, the boys great-aunt. He had

been in a coma for a week, she said.

Gaines said the ordeal began July 18, when she and his mother, British

Gaines took the boy to Doctor’s Hospital-Airline for a circumcision.

Brenda Gaines said they believed the 30-minute procedure went

successfully until a doctor told them the boy’s heart had stopped in

the operating room shortly after the operation.

The doctors resuscitated the boy and put him on a respirator, Gaines

said. He was taken by Life Flight helicopter to Texas Children’s she

said.

She said the boy never woke up.

“At first we thought he was just sick because he just looked like he

was asleep. Brenda Gaines said. “But the doctors said he was cold as

ice.”

Jeremie remained in intensive care for a week and his mother kept a

continuous vigil that resulted in her losing her waitress job, Gaines

said. Doctors at Texas Children’s hospital had given the boy a 50-50

chance of awakening, she said.

Doctor’s Hospital officials are investigating Jeremie’s death,

according to a statement issued by B. Lee Brown, the hospital

administrator.

We offer our deepest condolences to the family of Jeremie Johnson,”

said B. Lee Brown. “We have begun an in-depth review of the case to

learn more about this tragedy. We hope to obtain additional information

from Texas Children’s Hospital to assist us in our investigation.”

Doctors Hospital refused further comment. Texas Children’s spokeswoman

knew little about the boy’s case.

___________________________________________________________

This Russian boy should be 24 years old today.

http://www.cirp.org/news/1995.11.30_NYC_lawsuit/?C=S;O=A

FOX TELEVISION NEWS AND ASSOCIATED PRESS, November 30, 1995.

Boy awarded $1.2 million in botched circumcision mutilation lawsuit

NEW YORK (AP) — A clinic has agreed to pay $1.2 million to an

8-year-old immigrant boy who was mutilated during a botched

circumcision five years ago, his lawyer said.

The settlement was reached a month after a civil trial began in state

Supreme Court on allegations the boy, then 3, lost part of his penis

during the operation, according to his attorney, Mark Pruzan.

The boy and his family, who asked that their names be withheld, are

Russian immigrants who were referred to the Brook Plaza Surgical

Ambulatory Center in Brooklyn by agencies that help new Jewish

immigrants.

The clinic’s attorney, Neil Ptashnik, was quoted in Wednesday’s Daily

News as saying that the settlement was “a business decision” that

carried “specifically no admission of guilt.”

The boy was one of 16 children who underwent circumcision at the

Brooklyn clinic in July 1990.

The clinic, a doctor and the rabbi who performed the operation were

being sued for causing “permanent shortening and disfigurement of the

penis.”

During the trial, experts testified that the mutilation would make

sexual intercourse difficult when the boy reaches maturity, according

to Wednesday’s New York Post.

Under Jewish religious law, ritual circumcision – or bris – is

performed on 8-day-old boys. But the procedure was not commonly

available in the former Soviet Union. In addition, some Jewish families

refrained from having their sons circumcised because it could make them targets of prejudice in communities where Jews were victims of

anti-Semitism.

___________________________________________________________



Noah Benjamin Lapeyre should be 14 years old today.

http://www.jewishcircumcision.org/sues.htm

Press Journal (Florida) – January 29, 1998

Rabbi Gets Sued Over Circumcision

By Adam Chrzan

Press Journal Staff Writer

An Indian River County couple has sued a Palm Beach County temple and a rabbi for a botched religious circumcision that required emergency-room stitches and has left their son scarred.

Lisa Alsofrom and Maxou Jacques Lapeyre want an unspecified amount of money from Temple Emeth and Rabbi Abraham Cohen, who performed the circumcision on the couple’s son, Noah Benjamin Lapeyre, in June 1996.

A suit filed a week ago charges both the Delray Beach temple and Cohen, now a Connecticut resident, were negligent in performing what is known as a brith milah circumcision when Noah was 8 days old.

“He’s scarred for life physically and emotionally,” said David Carter,

the couple’s Vero Beach attorney. ‘`Everyone’s going to think of him as

the kid who was butchered by the mohel,” one approved to perform

circumcisions in the Jewish faith.

Alsofrom’s mother, a Palm Beach County resident, contacted the temple in late May 1996 and inquired about hiring a mohel to perform the religious ritual. The couple’s first son was circumcised in the

hospital, Carter said.

A receptionist at the temple gave Cohen’s name to Alsofrom’s mother.

The receptionist told her Cohen was affiliated with the temple, the

suit alleges.

Cohen, an ordained rabbi, had been hired by the temple as a religious

reader and was performing the circumcisions on his own according to

attorney Buck Vocelle, who represents the temple. “He did this on his

own,” Vocelle said Wednesday.

Cohen’s wife, reached at the couple’s West Hartford residence, said her husband could not be reached for comment.

Carter said his clients were given one of Cohen’s business cards, which

listed the temple, Cohen’s name and a notation about circumcisions.

“The business card clearly gives the message he was (working) for the

temple,” he added.

Cohen met with the couple but never informed them of the risks, the

suit alleges.

During the circumcision, which took place at the couple’s house, Cohen

reportedly “severed a portion of Noah’s penis and a blood vessel,” the

suit stated.

The infant was rushed to Indian River Memorial Hospital where he

received stitches and was transferred to Arnold Palmer Children’s

Hospital in Orlando, Carter said.

Noah, now 20 months old, has undergone numerous medical procedures including what is called a “revision” to the circumcision, and skin grafts to “improve the cosmetic appearance of the penis.” the suit said.

“Visually, it will always be different,” Carter said. “It’s hard to say

what kind of emotional effect this will have on him. It’s tough enough

going through puberty’ without a disfigurement.

The suit contends the temple and Cohen should have highlighted the

risks of the procedure should have used due care during the

circumcision and should have made known Cohen´s background, training and status with the temple.

Rabbi Jay R Davis of Temple Beth Shalom in Vero Beach said there is no

licensing agency for mohels.

“There is training, but no governing body,” he said.

Typically, parents contact a temple to recommend a mohel. The mohel

supposedly has studied with a doctor to learn the procedure, for which

he is paid several hundred dollars.

“Temples have nothing to do with mohels,” Davis said. Most mohels also carry no insurance, he said.

Neither Davis nor Temple Beth Shalom are involved in the lawsuit.

The couple’s suit seeks money for the pain, suffering and mental

anguish of Noah and his parents. The suit also seeks money to cover

current and future medical bills. Carter said the bills now total

several thousand dollars.

Noah’s parents declined to comment on the suit.

“These people are reluctant plaintiffs,” Carter said. Cohen agreed to

pay for the medical bills, which would have concluded the matter, but

he never followed through, he added.

__________________________________________________________

If Dustin Evans were alive today, he´d be 12 years old.

http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/giannetti/01.html

IOWA LAW REVIEW, Volume 85, Number 4: Pages 1507-1568,

May 2000.

On October 16, 1998, three-week-old Dustin Evans, Jr. died in

Cleveland, Ohio during anesthetized surgery necessary to repair his

urethra, which had become blocked when his circumcision failed to heal.

The boy’s father is quoted as having said, “You think, ‘what could go

wrong with a circumcision?'” It appears that no physician fully

informed Dustin’s parents that serious complications can occur with

circumcision, and that such complications can lead to further surgical

procedures. However, the entire medical establishment, as well as

individual physicians and hospitals must share part of the blame for

needless tragedies that occur, such as that which befell Dustin Evans.

Circumcision, while being a widespread and long-standing surgery in

American medical practice, has never been the subject of a

comprehensive, prospective investigation into its complication rates.

__________________________________________________________

This boy, who was circumcised without his parents´ consent and without

his consent, should be 13 years old today.



http://www.circumstitions.com/Law.html

Doctor pays parents $23,000 for circumcision without consent.

Public reprimand to gynecologist who “never even apologized”

Dallas, Texas, June 30, 2000:

A suit was settled this week for $23,000, against a Dallas obstetrician

for wrongful circumcision. The victim´s parents, Charlie Hardy and

Randi Harlan say they also endured indignities from Texas medical and

government personnel during their nearly three year long legal battle.

The Texas Medical Board issued Dr. Roosevelt Taylor a public reprimand

– his second – on May 19, 2000 for “failure to practice medicine in an

acceptable manner.”

In September 1997, Hardy and Harlan advised Dr. Taylor that their other children were not circumcised because they felt that circumcision was barbaric and harmful to an infant. On September 26, 1997, when Mrs. Harlan was admitted to Tri-City Hospital in Dallas for delivery, she told the staff that there was to be no circumcision. To prevent an accidental circumcision, the attending nurse threw the circumcision consent form into a nearby trashcan.

Two days after their son´s birth, Hardy and Harlan were stunned when

their newborn son was brought to them from the hospital nursery crying and bleeding, and were horrified when they learned that he had just been circumcised by Dr. Taylor. “We were hysterical,” recalls Randi,

“But when Dr. Taylor stopped by the room his only comment was `It´s not the end of the world.´ I mean he´s never even apologized to us.” The couple believes Dr. Taylor circumcised their son intentionally in spite of their strong feelings against it.

“How could this have even been a mistake? There was only one other baby

with our son in the nursery at the time, we definitely did not sign a

consent form, and we specifically told Dr. Taylor that there was to be

no circumcision,” Charlie Hardy stresses. “We were totally betrayed by

our own doctor.”

Dr. Taylor´s lack of concern was replayed in the responses Hardy and

Harlan received from successive medical and government personnel as

they tried to find justice for their newborn child. An attempt to file

a police report was met with an amused reaction on behalf of the Dallas

police who then advised the couple that a wrongful surgery “was not a

criminal matter”. The Dallas County District Attorney´s office

explained to the couple that a public case was not “worth their time”.

The couple sought assistance from the state´s attorney general, the

federal attorney general´s office, and even the Texas Governer´s

office, but, according to the couple, “We were just laughed at, every

step of the way.”

The issue of Medicaid fraud also didn´t seem to concern state

officials. Hardy and Harlan contacted the Medicaid fraud hotline to

report Dr. Taylor for charging the surgery. “We were told that

performing this surgery without consent does not constitute fraud. We

can´t believe this doctor made money for performing a surgery we were

against, and then the taxpayers had to pay for it,” says Hardy.

Despite the out-of court settlement, Hardy and Harlan believe that

justice wasn´t served. “Dr. Taylor has done this twice now.” In 1991 he was publicly reprimanded by the Texas Medical Board for performing

surgery without consent. “He´s still out there practicing like what he

did was no problem. If the doctor had carved his initials in our son´s

stomach, he would not be allowed to practice medicine. But since he cut off our son´s foreskin against our wishes, people think it is funny and all the doctor gets is a slap on the wrist. I wonder how many other families this has happened to, but they gave up the fight after being laughed at and receiving no support?”

J. Steven Svoboda, Executive Director of Attorneys for the Rights of the Child, says events like this are neither rare nor isolated.

___________________________________________________________

This boy, who was circumcised without his parents´ consent and without his consent, should be 13 years old today.

http://www.circumstitions.com/Law.html

Patriot Ledger

January 05, 2001

$80,000 settlement to circumcised boy

By SUE REINERT

The Patriot Ledger

Quincy Medical Center and an obstetrician have agreed to pay more than $80,000 to a boy who was circumcised and whose parents say the procedure was carried out against their wishes.

The parents told the hospital in August 1997 that they did not want

their son circumcised, according to a malpractice suit filed by the

parents. Nevertheless, Dr. Sandra Chenkin performed the procedure the day after he was born, court papers said.

Medical insurance experts said the case was unusual because it was

based on lack of consent rather than negligence, the usual grounds for

a malpractice claim.

Papers filed at Norfolk Superior Court contain the names of the parents

and child. The Patriot Ledger is not publishing the names to protect

the family´s privacy . . .

The case was settled Aug. 30, a little more than one month after the

parents sued. The parents and their lawyer agreed to keep the terms of the settlement secret, not disclosing where the case had been filed and who had been sued. The Patriot Ledger obtained the court papers

independently. The lawyer for the parents and child said he could not

comment because of the settlement agreement.

Under terms of the settlement, the parents received $14,418 in August

and their lawyer was paid $20,000. The child will collect four annual

payments of $20,588 starting on his 18th birthday, for a total of

$82,352, the agreement said.

The payments to parents, child and attorney total $116,770. However,

Chenkin´s insurer, which paid the settlement, laid out only $60,000 in

cash: the immediate payments to the parents and their lawyer, plus a

$25,352 annuity to cover the future payments, the court papers said.

___________________________________________________________

Troy Gordon should be 17 years old today.



http://www.cirp.org/news/santacruzsentinel06-09-01/

Santa Cruz Sentinel, Santa Cruz, California, USA,

Saturday, June 9, 2001

$1.4M awarded for botched circumcision

Associated Press

Sacramento– A Sacramento jury awarded $1.42 million to a 7 year-old

boy this week for a botched circumcision performed by a first-year

resident at University of California, Davis, Medical Center.

The verdict exceeds the legal cap of $250,000 on medical malpractice

awards because the hospital failed to obtain the parents’ permission to

operate. After the boy was injured, the hospital asked the parents to

sign a consent form, according to a press release by the parents’

attorney.

The hospital did not immediately respond to calls by the Associated Press.

The boy suffered from a pituitary condition that made circumcision

difficult and dangerous, said Mark Blake, the parents’ attorney.

Blake said a first-year medical resident performed the surgery.

http://www.circumstitions.com/Law.html

Date: 6/7/01 [7 June, 2001] Case Style: Gordon v. University of

California Case Number: 99 AS 05222 Judge: Unknown Court: Superior

Court, Sacramento County, California Plaintiff’s Attorney: Martin L.

Blake of Baum & Blake, San Francisco, California Defendant’s Attorney:

Ronald Lamb of Rust, Armenis, Schwartz, Lamb & Bill, Sacramento,

California

Description: Medical malpractice – Negligent performance of

circumcision on a newborn baby whose penis was injured. Troy Gordon was born, jaundiced and hypoglycemic on January 19, 1994, at the University of California at Davis. The circumcision was performed by a resident and the Plaintiffs claimed that an excessive amount of foreskin was removed in the procedure. As a result, the child has a “buried penis”.

The defense took the position that the condition created by the

surgical error would correct itself during puberty.

Outcome: Plaintiffs’ verdict for $1.4 million.

___________________________________________________________

If Ryleigh McWillis were alive today, he´d be 10 years old.

http://www.cirp.org/news/theprovince02-13-04/

THE PROVINCE, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Friday, 13 February 2004.

Lack of post-surgery info angers grieving parents

With a baby son dead, they want care after circumcisions clarified

Suzanne Fournier

The Province

Friday, February 13, 2004

The tragic death of their infant son after a routine circumcision in

August 2002 still haunts a Vernon couple — who say they weren’t

properly informed about the signs of danger to watch out for in

post-operative care.

A coroner’s report released this week into the death of one-month-old

Ryleigh McWillis notes that the Penticton Regional Hospital where the

circumcision was done has significantly improved the information

pamphlet it gives out to all parents, and has changed both follow-up

care and documentation for all circumcisions.

But Tanna McWillis says she and her husband, Brent, a medical

professional who worked at the hospital at the time of his son’s death,

are disappointed that coroner Chico Newell made no other

recommendations.

“The coroner could have recommended that the hospital and doctor

clearly tell parents, ‘Any bleeding’s bad,’ and warn us what to look

for. I didn’t realize a baby can die from losing as little as one ounce

of blood,” McWillis said.

Brent McWillis, a lab technologist, transferred away from the Penticton

hospital after the death. The couple, who also have a five-year-old

daughter, relocated to Vernon.

“Brent still finds it too painful to talk about,” said his 34-year-old

wife. “The nurses were our friends and a couple of them who tried so

hard to save our baby felt so badly they quit.”

The Canadian Pediatric Society takes the position that male

circumcision exposes children to risk with no real medical benefits.

Circumcision is no longer covered by medicare in Canada and the numbers

of male babies circumcised have been rapidly dropping, down from a

decade ago when 60 to 90 per cent of all male babies born in North

America were routinely circumcised shortly after birth.

At B.C. Children’s Hospital, only 180 male babies were circumcised of

the 3,656 boys born in 2002-03 [or 4.9 percent], down from the 274

circumcisions done of 3,544 boys born the previous year [or 7.7

percent], said hospital spokeswoman Marisa Nichini.

___________________________________________________________

If David Reimer were alive today, he´d be 45 years old. One has to

wonder about the boys from the 1973 Seattle lawsuit and the 1985

Atlanta lawsuit who both underwent “sex change” operations following

their botched circumcisions.

http://www.cirp.org/news/torontostar05-11-04/

TORONTO STAR, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Tuesday, 11 May 2004.

DEBRA BLACK

STAFF REPORTER

David Reimer was the victim of an experiment gone totally awry – an

experiment that suggested nurture could trump nature.

The 38-year-old Winnipeg man, who was born a boy but raised as a girl after a botched circumcision, took his own life last week.

But for some, his death and his life will not be in vain.

Reimer’s tortured experience as a girl leaves a lasting legacy in the

field of gender identity and the debate over what shapes a human being: nature or nurture.

“David was a hero,” said Milton Diamond, a psychologist at the

University of Hawaii, at the John A. Burns School of Medicine in

Honolulu, who was involved in Reimer’s case.

“David didn’t give permission for what was done to him. Even though he didn’t have a penis, he still knew he was male,” Diamond said.

Thanks to Reimer, many psychiatrists and psychologists have had to

rethink their theories on what determines sex, says Ken Zucker,

psychologist-in-chief at Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental

Health and a specialist in gender identity.

Reimer’s life story was described in a 2000 book by New York-based

writer John Colapinto, As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl. His story was also featured on Oprah.

In the early 1970s, one theory held that gender was flexible and a

child could be taught to be a man or a woman. “The (Reimer) case has

taught a lot of people in the field that things are a lot more complex

when it comes to gender than people originally thought 30 years ago,”

said Zucker.

“Where we’ve really had a lot of advances is in recognizing biology has

a predisposing influence on gender identity and gender roles.

“But the environment is also important.”

After a botched circumcision led to the removal of his penis, Reimer

was renamed Brenda and raised as a girl, later receiving female

hormones.

His parents were following the advice of psychologist Dr. John Money of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Positive reports in medical journals suggested Reimer was adapting

successfully to his new gender as a girl.

Many, from feminists to learning theorists, embraced the case, using it

as an example that gender could indeed be taught.

But nothing was further from the truth in this case, said Dr. Keith

Sigmundson who was a supervising psychiatrist for Reimer from when he was 8 to 20 years old. Reimer didn’t adjust well to being a girl at all

and began having difficulties at school.

“By the time Reimer was 11, the whole experiment was falling apart,”

said Sigmundson, who was brought into the case by the Winnipeg school system. Reimer was eventually told when he was 13 that he had been born a boy. He rebelled and went back to being a boy.

“From that point on he sought out all the surgery,” said Sigmundson.

“He totally changed how he was presenting himself and struggled with a

number of operations. He eventually lived his life as a man.”

Reimer got a job in a meat-packing plant in Winnipeg. He married and

was a stepfather to three children.

Up until about a year ago, he was in “top form,” said Sigmundson who

remained in contact with him.

But Reimer felt responsible for the suicide of his twin brother two

years ago, the psychiatrist said.

Then he slumped into even more of a depression after losing his job and

separating from his wife.

His mother, Janet Reimer, told Canadian Press that she believes her son

would still be alive had it not been for the devastating gender study.

“I think he felt he had no options. It just kept building up and

building up.”

Many of the changes in the way social scientists, psychologists and

psychiatrists think about gender has happened because of Reimer and the

controversy surrounding his life.

“At the time, there was a major controversy in our society over whether

an individual’s personality and their adaptation of their gender was a

result of how they were born versus how they were raised,” explained

Sigmundson. The only one thing that is clear today is gender is a

combination of many factors, including biology and learning, he noted.

“There are certain immutable things that happen in your chromosomes and

in utero that develop the gonads that have an impact on your brain

which set the pattern for the rest of your life,” he said. “That’s

essentially what we know now.”

Sigmundson and Diamond were responsible for revealing publicly that

Money’s experiment had failed and all was not well with Reimer’s new

gender. They published a report in 1997 in the Archives of Pediatric

and Adolescent Medicine that outlined Reimer’s rejection of being a

girl.

“His life was very difficult,” said Diamond, crying as he spoke to a

reporter. “And I think the legacy is the whole issue of how people

identify and see themselves as male and female. It’s not as simplistic

as putting people into blue rooms and pink rooms. Certainly our

environment makes a difference and how we’re brought up makes a

difference. But we come to the game with our own inherent natures and

how those things interplay can’t be predicted.”

__________________________________________________________

The surviving twin should be 6 years old today.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6898403/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/

Rabbi probed for circumcised infants’ herpes

Baby died from disease after undergoing procedure

2/2/2005 11:50:15 AM ET

Ten days after Rabbi Yitzhok Fischer performed religious circumcisions

on twins last October, one died of herpes and the other tested positive

for the virus, according to a complaint filed by the health department

in Manhattan Supreme Court.

The complaint, reported in Wednesday´s edition of the New York Daily

News, also said health officials later found a third baby who had

contracted herpes after being circumcised by Fischer in late 2003.

Under Jewish law, a mohel – someone who performs circumcisions – draws

blood from the circumcision wound. Most mohels do it by hand with a

suction device, but Fischer uses a practice rare outside strict

Orthodox groups where he uses his mouth to draw blood after cutting the

foreskin.

Herpes can cause potentially severe complications for infants because

of their undeveloped immune systems . A recent study published in the

journal Pediatrics found that the rare ritual puts newborns at serious

risk of contracting herpes simplex virus and shouldn’t be performed as

part of the circumcision procedure.

Fischer´s lawyer, Mark Kurzmann, told the Daily News that Fischer was

cooperating with the investigation, although it´s unclear whether

Fischer submitted to the city´s request for a blood test.

“My client is known internationally as a caring, skilled, and

conscientious mohel,” Kurzmann said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

__________________________________________________________

http://www.cirp.org/news/nrm2006-06-30/

NATIONAL REVIEW OF MEDICINE, Volume 3, Number 12,

Montreal, Friday, June 30, 2006.

BC man’s foreskin op a success

Government pays to repair botched circumcision

By Jennifer Laliberté

In late April Paul Tinari became the first man in Canadian history to have the government pay for surgery to reverse a botched circumcision.

Armed with letters from a urologist and psychiatrist, the Vancouver

engineer – who says he’s been in pain for years – convinced the BC

government to pick up 90% of the $12,000 tab. The final piece fell into

place when he located Toronto plastic surgeon Dr Robert H Stubbs, the

only doctor in Canada who’d ever performed a foreskin restoration.

“This is not something I went into lightly,” says 48-year-old Dr Tinari

of the complex, multistage procedure he began at the end of April. “I

assessed the risks [of the surgery] and was willing to take them. But I

certainly wasn’t willing to pay for it.”

The BC Ministry of Health says requests for funding for unlisted

medical procedures are approved only if the care isn’t available in the

province and if a medical professional has confirmed there’s a serious

medical or mental health issue. There were no existing rules to deal

with Dr Tinari’s unusual case. “Obviously, something like that would be

granted coverage only in rare or extenuating circumstances,” says

ministry spokesperson Sarah Plank. “We certainly don’t have a billing

code for it.”

“He got a big chunk because no one in BC does this and he had his

urologist and psychiatrist on his side,” observes Dr Stubbs, who

specializes in genital cosmetic surgery. “Some provinces are willing to

do things like that for their citizens.”

RESTORATION 101

“Dr Tinari was a good candidate for the surgery,” says Dr Stubbs, who

says he doesn’t know of any other Canadian physicians doing foreskin

restoration. “He had sufficient donor skin and was well aware of what

he was getting into. I select my patients very, very carefully,” he

said. In fact, Dr Tinari is only the third patient he’s agreed to take

on. “This is like climbing Mount Everest,” he says. “It’s a huge

procedure.”

First, the skin is cut along the circumcision scar line and stretched

open to create a graft site. Then, two parallel incisions are made on

the scrotum – the donor site – leaving a sort of bridge with the two

ends attached on either side. “The penis is popped through the hole,

with the skin bridge covering the defect you created,” Dr Stubbs

explains. “Then we let that heal for at least three weeks.” In stage

two, the two ends of the bridge are cut, separating the penis and

scrotum. “You tuck those two pieces that are still dangling to the

underside and keep your fingers crossed that enough blood vessels have grown in to ensure survival of the graft.” Finally, when the swelling has subsided, the new skin is stretched over the penis with tape and traction weights to form a foreskin.

PERSONAL CRUSADE

Dr Tinari sees this not just as a medical victory but a moral one too.

He alleges that his circumcision was forced on him when he was eight

years old by priests at his Montreal boarding school as punishment for

masturbating. He says the circumcision left him depressed, suicidal and

in chronic pain. He says his testicles would pull up onto the shaft of

the penis during an erection; a segment of the glans healed to a small

amount of remaining shaft skin, forming a skin bridge; stretching of

that bridge caused intense pain during erection, occasionally causing

tearing and bleeding during sex. He adds that cleaning under the skin

bridge was also very difficult, so he suffered from chronic infections

for years.

Nowadays, Dr Tinari, who has a PhD in engineering, is the director of

an environmental engineering company based in Coquitlam, BC. But he

spends a lot of his time campaigning against circumcision and for wider

access to foreskin restoration. “People thought that I would go away

after the surgery, but that was just the first step,” he says. “I did

this to restore my own bodily integrity, but also to set a legal

precedent.”

Given the complexity of the procedure, Dr Stubbs doesn’t expect to see a dramatic increase in patients. He’s staying out of Dr Tinari’s legal

pursuits. “I don’t ask women why they come in for a breast implant, and I didn’t ask him if he had an ulterior motive,” says the surgeon. “He

may have an agenda that I don’t know about, but this isn’t something

where the success or failure of his surgical procedure should make men

consider this an option or not.”

Meanwhile, Dr Tinari is still recovering; it’s nearly two months since

the surgery and his doctor is pleased with the outcome. “We seem to

have about an 80-90% graft survival,” says Dr Stubbs. “I transferred a

strip about 7cm wide, so he should have plenty for an adequate

foreskin.” The patient is also very pleased. “I’ve been working towards

this for thirty years,” says Dr Tinari. “I’m feeling better every day.”

___________________________________________________________

http://www.cirp.org/news/newhavenregister03-24-05/

THE NEW HAVEN REGISTER, New Haven, Connecticut, Thursday, 24 March 2005.

Oxford couple sues over circumcision mishap

STAMFORD – An Oxford couple on Wednesday sued a doctor who they say partially amputated their son´s penis during a circumcision at St.

Vincent´s Hospital in Bridgeport.

Immediately after his injury last June, the day-old boy was transferred

to Yale-New Haven Hospital where he underwent reconstructive surgery.

“We are bringing this case because we already know this baby has

suffered a horrible, life-altering physical injury, but we are still

learning about the longterm ramifications of the injury,” said Ernest

Teitell, one of the boy´s attorneys. “What happened will profoundly

affect him as he grows older.”

Circumcision, often performed for religious reasons, involves removing

foreskin from the penis.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says most complications from the

procedure, such as bleeding, are usually minor.

Robin Biondo, the boy´s mother, said Dr. Daniel S. Gottschall cut off

40 percent of the tip of her son´s penis.

“It was a very difficult thing to go through to see your newborn child

laying there and wondering how much pain he was in and how this is

going to affect him,” Biondo said.

In 2001, a jury in California awarded $1.42 million to a 7-year-old boy

for a botched circumcision.

In another case, the late David Reimer, a Canadian, was born as a boy but raised as a girl after a botched circumcision.

The lawsuit, filed in Bridgeport Superior Court, seeks unspecified

damages from Dr. Gottschall, who performed the surgery last June, and

his medical and surgical group, Alliance for Women´s Health.

Gottschall said he has performed more than 1,000 circumcisions without a problem.

“There was a slight tip that was removed, recognized and repaired,”

Gottschall said. “We believe there was a congenital deformity of the

penis that made the injury more likely. Because of my diligence, the

boy had the repair that was necessary.”

The boy, now nine months old, spent about 10 days in the hospital,

according to his mother.

See also: http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/10/07/30888.htm

___________________________________________________________

http://www.cirp.org/news/morganhilltimes06-14-05/

MORGAN HILL TIMES, Morgan Hill, California, Tuesday, June 14, 2005.

Circumcision rates are down amid controversy

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Gilroy obstetrician Dr. Jumnah Thanapathy recalls seeing a botch, one

of the tiny percentage of procedures that go wrong, when she was still working at Kaiser Medical Center years ago.

During the elective circumcision of an infant, the doctor performing

the procedure accidentally cut too far down, slicing off the glans and

much of the head of the infant´s penis.

It was sewn back on like a re-attached finger, said Thanapathy, but the damage was done. Its extent would be impossible to calculate until the wound healed.

“We live in a society that looks at the statistics of a situation,”

said Thanapathy. “People see a 99 percent success rate, and they never think that they´ll be part of that one percent, but I just don´t see taking that risk for an elective procedure.”

Thanapathy is one voice in a growing number of physicians and parents questioning the practice of circumcision, a surgical procedure to remove the penis´ foreskin.

___________________________________________________________

This boy should be 14 years old today.

http://www.cirp.org/news/mlw02-23-04/

MASSACHUSETTS LAWYERS WEEKLY, Boston, February 23, 2004.

Verdicts & Settlements

Excess Skin Removed During Infant’s Circumcision $110,000 Settlement

The minor plaintiff was born on Feb. 12, 1997. According to the medical

records, the defendant performed a circumcision on the minor plaintiff

five days after his birth. Following the procedure, the minor

plaintiff’s penis bled profusely requiring several sutures. His

hematocrit dropped from 45.9 to 34.1 after the circumcision.

After being discharged from the hospital, the minor plaintiff was

referred to a pediatric urologist who examined the minor plaintiff and

noted that his penis was virtually devoid of shaft skin. The urologist

noted that the condition of the minor plaintiff’s penis was highly

suggestive of excess penile shaft skin being removed at the time of

circumcision.

In October 1998, the minor plaintiff underwent reconstructive surgery

by the urologist. An additional reconstructive procedure reportedly was

necessary in order to attempt to rectify the damage done during the

circumcision. The case was resolved when the minor plaintiff was almost

7 years old; he did not sustain any loss of sensation or function. The

case resolved mainly on the minor plaintiff’s claims of pain and

suffering and the residual scarring caused as a result of the initial

procedure and the subsequent surgical procedures.

The defendant maintained that he was not negligent in performing the

circumcision. He further maintained that the minor plaintiff’s medical

condition predisposed him to excessive bleeding, that the clamp used

carried with it the risk of excess skin being removed and that the

subsequent surgery was unnecessary.

The case settled on the eve of the second trial date for $110,000.

Type of action: Medical Malpractice

Injuries alleged: Scarring

Name of case: Withheld

Court/case #: Withheld

Tried before judge or jury: N/A (settled)

Amount of settlement: $110,000

Date: September 2003

Attorneys: Gregg J. Pasquale (of counsel) and Melissa A. White (of

counsel), Keches & Mallen, Taunton (for the plaintiff)

___________________________________________________________

This boy should be 3 years old today.



http://www.cirp.org/news/masslawweekly05-19-03/

MASSACHUSETTS LAWYER’S WEEKLY, Monday, May 19, 2003

From the May 19, 2003 Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

Verdicts & Settlements

Tip Of Penis Amputated During Circumcision

Doctor Admits Mistake; Defense Later Questions Design Of Clamp Used

$725,000 Settlement

In June 1997, a baby boy was born to the plaintiffs. According to all

involved, the mother and minor plaintiff were healthy and in

satisfactory condition following the birth. The morning after the

birth, the minor plaintiff was taken from the mother to be circumcised.

The father did not accompany the minor plaintiff. Approximately one

hour later, the defendant doctor entered the plaintiff parents’ room

and notified them that a small section at the tip of the infant’s glans

penis had been inadvertently excised.

The defendant doctor further informed them that a surgeon was on the way to perform microsurgery to reattach the amputated section. The defendant doctor reportedly concluded by stating: “I wish I could blame the clamp, but I can’t. It was my fault.”

The operative note stemming from the reattachment stated that only a tiny section of glans penis had been amputated during the circumcision, that no damage had been done to the child’s urethra, and that full recovery was expected.

Over the next two years, the minor plaintiff had a remarkable healing

result. Follow-up appointments with different doctors, one of whom was

a noted specialist from Children’s Hospital in Boston, confirmed that

the minor plaintiff would not likely suffer any permanent injury as a

result of the circumcision mishap. There were, however, slight cosmetic deficits at the tip of the minor plaintiff’s penis, which were termed “skin tags.” These skin tags were removed by laser surgery and did not reappear.

The plaintiff’s expert agreed that there was only a slight cosmetic

deficit and that the urethra remained intact. He also agreed that the

child would not suffer any decreased sensation due to the original

insult. He added that he could not say for certain that the plaintiff

would grow to have full sensation at the tip of his penis.

As discovery progressed, the defense began to question the suitability

of the Mogen clamp used in the process. Despite the defendant doctor’s admission that the incident was his fault, the defense persisted with claims that the Mogen clamp had a design defect, which could allow for a portion of the glans penis to become trapped during the clamping process and inadvertently excised.

The plaintiffs did extensive research into the different implements

used for circumcision, and opined that the doctor failed to make

certain that only foreskin remained exposed after the clamp had been

applied. Ultimately, the case was settled with a structured settlement,

which will yield the child in excess of $750,000.

Type of action: Medical Malpractice

Injuries alleged: Section of glans penis amputated

Name of case: Withheld

Court/case #: Withheld

Tried before judge or jury: N/A (settled)

Special damages: $3,950

Amount of settlement: $725,000

Date: January 2003

Attorney: Darin M. Colucci, Colucci, Colucci & Marcus, Milton

___________________________________________________________

This boy should be 14 or 15 years old today.

http://www.cirp.org/news/thecolumbian09-18-04/

THE COLUMBIAN, Vancouver, Washington, Saturday, September 18, 2004.

Father pleads not guilty to assault in circumcision case

Saturday, September 18, 2004

By STEPHANIE RICE, Columbian staff writer

A Ridgefield man who allegedly performed a botched circumcision on his

8-year-old son pleaded not guilty Friday to second-degree assault of a

child.

Superior Court Judge Diane Woolard accepted the not-guilty plea from

Edwin B. Baxter, who initially told Woolard he did not understand the

charge and then asked for a new court-appointed attorney.

After a brief discussion with his attorney, Tony Lowe, Baxter returned

to the bench and entered his plea.

His trial was set for Nov. 8.

Baxter is being held in the Clark County Jail on $50,000 bail.

Clark County senior deputy prosecutor Kim Farr said he has been unable to track down members of Baxter’s family, who have abandoned their rental home. Law enforcement and investigators from the state

Department of Children and Family Services also have been unsuccessful in finding the family.

Baxter, 33, and his pregnant wife have nine children. The state has

tried before to contact the family after receiving reports that none of

the children attends school.

Farr said he’ll seek a court order to take depositions from Baxter’s

wife, who was home at the time of the incident, and the victim. If the

defendant does not relay the word to his family that they are required

to give depositions, then Farr said he’ll consider asking for warrants

for the wife and son to be arrested and kept in custody as material

witnesses until the trial.

Baxter, a truck driver, was arrested Sept. 3 after he called 911 to

report that his son was bleeding profusely in the family´s bathroom.

Baxter allegedly said he tried to circumcise his son after reading

biblical passages about the procedure.

Farr said Baxter put a blanket and pillow in the bathtub to try and

make his son comfortable.

If convicted of second-degree assault, Baxter could face three years in prison.

Stephanie Rice covers the courts. She can be reached at 360-759-8004

360-759-8004 or stephanie.rice@columbian.com.

___________________________________________________________

Hunter Dumire is at least 5 years old, and possibly older.

http://www.wvrecord.com/news/193707-preston-couple-sues-wvu-over-sons-

circumcision

Preston couple sues WVU over son’s circumcision 4/18/2007 8:00 AM By Cara Bailey -Monongalia Bureau

MORGANTOWN – A Preston County couple has filed a medical malpractice suit against the West Virginia University Medical Corporation on behalf of their son.

Scott and Sherry Dumire filed a suit April 9 in Monongalia Circuit

Court, on behalf of Hunter Dumire. The suit names the West Virginia

University Board of Governors and West Virginia University Medical

Corporation — doing business as University Health Associates — as

defendants.

According to the suit, Hunter Dumire was injured during a circumcision

procedure on Oct. 20, 2005, at the health center. The suit says the

deviation of care during the procedure caused injury and damages to the

Dumires.

As a result of the alleged negligence of the defendants, the Dumires

have incurred medical expenses, and will continue to incur the bills

for the care, treatment and hospitalization of Hunter Dumire.

They also claim Hunter has been permanently disfigured and request full

compensation for the injuries and damages sustained.

Attornies Wesley W. Metheney and Steven L. Shaffer are counsel for the

Dumires.

Monongalia Circuit Court case number 07-C-250

___________________________________________________________

This boy should be 4 years old today.



http://www.cirp.org/news/earthtimes2007-07-18/

EARTHTIMES, Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Circumcision Atrocity Suit Filed Against Coles County Hospital

MATTOON, Ill., July 18 /PRNewswire/ — The day after birth on February

15, 2007, an infant at Sarah Bush Hospital had a standard circumcision

procedure performed by Dr. Sherif Malek. However, what should have been

a forgotten memory for the boy became a lifelong nightmare. Due to

negligence, Dr. Malek severed the entire glans, commonly termed the

head, of the infant’s penis. Today, Jerry A. Latherow of Latherow Law

Office on behalf of plaintiffs Boy Doe (the infant) and his mother,

Jane Doe, filed a complaint for compensation for damages against Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System, Inc, 1000 Health Center Drive, Mattoon, IL, and Sherif Malek, D.O. in the Circuit Court of Coles County, Illinois.

The infant was a healthy seven pound newborn who was delivered without complications on February 14, 2007. The following day, a routine circumcision was performed on the infant by Dr. Malek using a Mogen clamp, a metal, hinge-shaped device used during the procedure. At the completion of the circumcision, hospital records indicated there was significant bleeding. Inspection of the penis revealed nearly all of the glans had been amputated at the time of the circumcision. Three months later, the infant required penile skin transfer surgery at the University of Illinois, with need for future procedures, some of which are only appropriate at the age of puberty.

According to medical expert witness, Dr. David Zbaraz with Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, who reviewed the Sarah Bush medical records of the infant, “The Mogen clamp when used properly cannot amputate a male infant’s glans. The injury to this boy was completely preventable.”

Across the United States major settlements have been made for botched

circumcisions. In 1991, a hospital in Atlanta, GA, agreed to pay $22.8

million because of negligence during a circumcision. Also in New York

City a boy received $1.2 million for a circumcision error, and in Lake

Charles, LA a family received $2.75 million after a boy’s penis was

burned during a routine circumcision.

“Through simple carelessness at Sarah Bush Hospital, a boy will face

physical disfigurement and psychological trauma throughout his life,”

said Jerry A. Latherow, the attorney representing Boy Doe and Jane Doe,

“Unfortunately, caps on medical malpractice cases in Illinois will

prevent the boy from recovering more than $500,000 against the

physician for the lifelong deformity and urological care, and any

associated psychological problems. Sadly, the hospital’s liability for

such damages is capped at $1 million. Even before the case is tried, a

mother and her child have been robbed.”

A complete copy of the complaint is available upon request. About Jerry

A. Latherow

Jerry A. Latherow is a veteran trial lawyer who has attained verdicts

and settlements for his clients in cases involving medical malpractice,

vehicular and construction liability, and airplane crash cases. In

2003, he was recognized by the National Law Journal as obtaining one of

the top 100 verdicts in the country.

CONTACTS: Jerry A. Latherow, attorney for plaintiffs: 312-372-0052

312-372-0052 (o), 312-520-0052 312-520-0052

(c) Patty Peterson, Sarah Bush Hospital: (217) 258-2420

(217) 258-2420 Tom Ciesielka, TC Public Relations: 312-422-1333

312-422-1333 Latherow Law Office

CONTACT: Jerry A. Latherow, attorney for plaintiffs, +1-312-372-0052

+1-312-372-0052 , cell, +1-312-520-0052

+1-312-520-0052 ; or Patty Peterson of Sarah Bush Hospital,

+1-217-258-2420 +1-217-258-2420 ; or Tom Ciesielka of

TC Public Relations, +1-312-422-1333 +1-312-422-1333 ,

tc@tcpr.net, for Latherow Law Office

Web site: http://www.latherowlaw.com/

___________________________________________________________

D. P., Jr. should be 6 or 7 years old today.

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2009/03/30/botched_circ

umcision_suit.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab&imw=Y

____________________________________________________________

http://tinyurl.com/257esq



Ontario boy dies after complications from circumcision Mark Brennae, CanWest

News Service

Published: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 Article tools

OTTAWA – A one-week-old Ontario infant died from complications after

undergoing a circumcision in a provincial hospital.

Information about the case was published in the April edition of Paediatric

Child Health.

The baby, whose name has been withheld by the parents, passed away after his

kidneys became enlarged to seven times their normal size.

The child was born at an unidentified Ontario hospital “sometime in the last

three years,” sai