09/15/2010 // West Palm Beach, FL, US // Sandra Quinlan // Sandra Quinlan
South Miami, FL—The mother of a baby who was circumcised without consent filed a lawsuit against the medical center where the unauthorized procedure was performed. South Miami Hospital was sued for negligence and battery as opposed to medical malpractice, according to a September 13, 2010 CBS4 report.
Reports indicated Vera Delgado gave birth to her son Mario Viera at South Miami Hospital. The mother contended she told hospital staff that she did not want her son circumcised several times. However, eight days after he was born, a circumcision was performed nonetheless.
An attorney for the South Florida mother claimed, “For nearly 20 years that I have practiced law, I have not seen a case like this. This is not medical practice. It’s a battery… While there are some people who say circumcisions are beneficial, there are others who say they are not necessary… They went and they did an unnecessary, unwanted procedure on this child without the parent’s permission.”
The South Miami Hospital apologized for the incident and released the following statement in response to the pending litigation:
“The baby’s circumcision was an unfortunate mistake caused by a misread consent form. As soon as the error was discovered, the doctor and nurses let the family know what had occurred. We also immediately implemented new processes to ensure this mistake will not occur again. The procedure itself was performed following appropriate surgical guidelines and the baby didn’t have any complications. Nevertheless, we’re all deeply sorry that this happened.”
Nonetheless, the family’s attorney added, “We want to find the name of the person who gave the order for circumcision, who authorized the surgery and the use of that scalpel… Ms. Delgado and the father were adamant that the baby not be circumcised.”
The distraught mother maintained it is a family custom for males to remain uncircumcised. “I know they apologized and everything, but it’s done, the damage is done,” said Delgado.
The case, which seeks unspecified damages, is underway.
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