The news reports on this case leave a lot of questions unanswered and leave us with virtually no knowledge about what happened in the case.
The attorney, Zenas Baer is the same attorney that brought the Flatt vs. Kantak case involving informed consent just a couple of years ago. Baer lost that case. Baer is an experienced lawyer and it is not likely that he would bring a case that did not have merit such as the mother being simply not satisfied with the first circumcision.
We don't know if the check-off form was a "yes/no" or just a "yes" type form that could have been changed after she signed it. If it was only "yes" a nurse or other worker could have checked yes later "to do what's best for the child."
We don't know if the mother changed her mind about circumcision after signing the form and thought there would be a formal informed consent form at the hospital.
We don't know if the first circumcision was done in a sloppy manner or if it was just a loose circumcision that did not leave the glans completely bare as she expected.
The articles did state that there had been a settlememt reached with the doctor and that the plaintiff intends to appeal the case against the hospital which indicates there is some validity to the complaint.
The judge in the case might be highly biased toward circumcision. In the Flatt vs. Kantak case, the judge ruled that Dr. Kantak only had to answer very specific and pointed questions to satisfy the informed part of informed consent and did not have to provide any information that was not specifically requested in a question. I personally think she would have ruled quite differently if the case had been about something other than circumcision but never the less, that case set the standard for informed consent in all surgeries in North Dakota. I will not be having surgery in North Dakota for fear that I would be deprived vital information about the risks of the procedure.
We just haven't gotten enough information about this case to come to any conclusions about whether it was a valid complaint or a good judgement by the judge. Hopefully, more information will come out.
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