Neal Pope (Photo: Greg Land/ALM)

The lead attorney for a child who lost the tip of his penis during a botched circumcision nearly five years ago asked jurors to award $100 million in damages as he finalized the plaintiffs' case Thursday afternoon.

Pope McGlamry partner C. Neal Pope said the boy, who will be 5 years old next month, will spend the rest of his life dealing with the effects of the incident that has already led to multiple surgeries and will leave him scarred mentally and physically for the rest of his life.

The boy was 18 days old when his mother, Stacie Willis, took him to Life Cycle OB/GYN for the procedure, during which a small piece of the tip of his penis was severed.

“Those 18 days were the only normal days that child will have” over a lifetime that should last another 70 years, Pope said.

“This whole thing was a screw-up from start to finish,” said Pope, after pointing to testimony that doctors might have been able to reattach the tissue if they had immediately sent him and the severed portion of the glans, or penis tip, to a hospital emergency room.

Instead, the tissue was placed in a refrigerator, and the boy's mother was told that a certain amount of bleeding was normal and that she should take the baby to see her treating pediatrician the next day.  

Stacie Willis sued the nurse midwife who performed the procedure, Melissa Jones; the OB/GYN she consulted, Brian Register; Life Cycle OB/GYN; a related practice, Life Cycle Pediatrics; and the boy's treating pediatrician, Abigail Kamishlian; and Kamishlian's employer, Daffodil Pediatrics.

Clayton County State Court Judge Shalonda Jones-Parker sanctioned Jones and Register earlier this year, striking their defenses over the destruction of the severed tissue that remained in a refrigerator for several months before it was discarded. That means those two defendants are already deemed liable, and the trial against them is only for the amount of damages.

During closing arguments, attorneys for the three sets of co-defendants offered varying defenses.

Hall Booth partner Terrell “Chip” Benton, who represents Jones and Register, agreed that the boy should be compensated for his injuries but urged the jury to be “fair and reasonable.” He noted that the child's injuries—while genuine—have not interfered with his ability to urinate and are not likely to interfere with his ability to have children, though “cosmetic” surgery might be required in the future.

Huff Powell & Bailey partner R. Page Powell Jr., who represents Life Cycle Pediatrics owner Anne Sigouin, noted his client was not even on-site when the incident occurred and relied solely on what Register told her by phone shortly after it happened. Register assured her the situation was under control, Powell said, adding that jurors should not find Sigouin at fault.

Similarly, Peters & Monyak partner Robert Monyak said his client, Kamishlian—whom Jones called shortly after the incident—was being blamed for assuming Jones' account of slicing off a “sliver” of tissue was accurate.

“Their argument is that Dr. Kamishlian should have interrogated Ms. Jones,” said Monyak. “Why would she do that? It's common and rational for one professional to believe another professional.”