NYC Toddler Dies After Circumcision

Jamaal Coleson Jr.'s family demand answers
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 6, 2011 2:25 AM CDT
NYC Toddler Dies After Circumcision
The hospital has reported the case to state officials as an "unexpected death."   (Wikipedia)

A toddler died a month shy of his second birthday after a routine circumcision at a Manhattan hospital. Jamaal Coleson Jr.'s uncle accuses Beth Israel Medical Center of botching the operation by giving the boy a general analgesic instead of a local one. Jamaal, who died 10 hours after the procedure, "woke up and laughed and called for his mother and then went critical," the uncle tells the New York Post. The boy's parents were too distraught to speak.

"We extend heartfelt condolences to the family of the young patient in question. This is a devastating event for his family as well as for the staff at Beth Israel who tried to save his life," the hospital said in a statement. "We immediately notified the Medical Examiner's Office and requested that they accept this case for further review, which they have." A spokesman for the medical examiner's office tells NBC that an initial autopsy was inconclusive, and the boy's remains are being held "pending further testing," which could take weeks. (San Francisco will consider a ban on circumcision if petition signatures check out. Click here for that story.)

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