Part of Newborn's Toe Cut Off in Hospital

The Associated Press
Jul 22, 2003 : 7:15 pm ET

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A hospital employee accidentally cut off part of a newborn baby's toe while trying to remove a security tag, a hospital spokesman said Tuesday.

Doctors reattached the part and were waiting to see if it healed properly, family members said.

Amirona Simmons was about to be released from Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children & Women on Monday when a hospital worker said she "nipped" the girl's baby toe, according to the girl's mother, Sheketa Simmons.

"When I looked, her toe was cut all the way off," Simmons said.

But hospital spokesman Joe Brown said only the tip of the middle toe was cut off.

"It is a very unfortunate accident and we regret that it happened," Brown said. "We're evaluating the course of action of what happened."

The hospital worker was placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation, said Dr. Mark Swanson, chairman of the hospital's pediatrics department. He said the infant should have no lasting effects.

"Clearly we are as bothered as the family is," he said. "We all feel terrible for the family and feel terrible for the child."