And now again, FINALLY (?)
04. September 2008
(Translated by Curtis E. Hinkle, Organisation Intersex International)
Damages for sex assignment without consent
Cologne - After years of suffering from the path she was given as a hermaphrodite, an orderly from Cologne has won on appeal her case for damages against her surgeon.
This physician removed the intact female reproductive organs of the 48-year-old woman without the necessary consent according to the judgment of the Appeals court on Thursday and rejected the appeal that had been entered to the court by the surgeon. The orderly is asking for 100,000 euros in damages as a result of the operation which took place over 30 years ago.
Some background: there was confusion concerning the sex: at birth the woman from Cologne's enlarged clitoris was considered to be a penis. She was raised as a boy by her parents and was named Thomas. It was not until an appendectomy that doctors observed that she also had a uterus and ovaries which were removed by the surgeon from Cologne over 30 years ago.
The Regional Court of Cologne, in a unique precedent-setting manner, determined that the operation had been illegal. The surgeon had recommended the surgery because he had gone on the assumption that the [internal] reproductive organs of the woman from Cologne were in a damaged (atrophied) state. When he noticed that he was mistaken [about this], he continued the operation anyway.
Therefore, the Appeals Court of Cologne has judged that he is guilty of having damaged her health and her right to decide for herself. The judgment cannot be appealed. The amount of the damages is to be determined by the Appeals Court of Cologne.
(Case no. Appeals Court of Cologne 5 U 51/08)
Original article:
