The birth of a child is an exciting and happy occasion, and all parents hope that their children will be healthy. Unfortunately, injuries can happen at birth or soon after. Perhaps the most devastating of these injuries is a brain or head injury that may lead to permanent brain damage in an infant child.
A new regulation passed in New York is seeking to limit a circumcision ritual that they believe may lead to brain damage in infant boys. The ritual, performed in some Orthodox Jewish communities, requires that the circumciser use their mouth to draw the blood from the wound on a baby’s penis. Officials say that 11 infants contracted herpes from the performance of the ritual, resulting in the deaths of two boys and brain damage in two others. Under the new regulation, the person performing the circumcision must obtain a signed legal consent form from a parent that warns the parent of the possible risk.
Infants can suffer head or brain injuries in many ways, including trauma before or during birth or from procedures performed on them after they are born. These injuries can result in long-term consequences such as disability, paralysis and brain damage, and can lead to a diminished quality of life and extensive medical costs.
If infants are injured through the actions of others, their families may be able to bring a personal injury action against the person who inflicted the injury. In order to bring such an action, they must show that the party that inflicted the injury was negligent. Negligence occurs when a person owes a duty of care to another person and fails to fulfill that duty, resulting in injury and financial losses.
Infants are nearly entirely reliant others to care for them and ensure their safety. Every person that comes into contact with or performs a procedure on a baby owes a duty of reasonable care. In instances where an infant is injured through the actions of others, victims and their families need to be aware of all options available to them.
