MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — A U.S. Marine is suing Lenox Hill Hospital and the city for allegedly refusing to correct a nearly 30-year-old error on his birth certificate — which lists him as female, according to a lawsuit filed this week.
David Hassan, 29, of Bayonne, N.J., says he has been kicked between the hospital and the city Department of Health's division of vital records, both of which have been unwilling to change the sex from "female" to "male" on the document. The mistake has prevented him from obtaining a driver's license, among other things, he claimed.
"I am not, nor have I ever been, female. This error was not discovered until some time in 2003 when I lost my wallet and had to apply for new ID," he said in the lawsuit.
He explained that he "did not do anything about it because I was at home on leave from the Marine Corps and did not have any time."
The blunder has allegedly had severe implications for the graduate student, who says he needs a driver's license to continue his studies.
When he requested a change, the hospital issued a letter identifying the error but did not shoulder the blame, according to the lawsuit. Then, the vital records office told Hassan and his mother they would not change the certificate without a letter stating it was a hospital error.
"I am caught between two self-serving bureaucracies and need the intervention of this court to tell one, the other, or both to do the right thing," the Marine added.
The hospital issued a statement Thursday saying they are in the process of resolving the matter.
"In 2007, Lenox Hill Hospital issued a letter stating that the information on Mr. Hassan’s birth certificate was incorrect and thought that the matter had been resolved. We are currently working to resolve this issue," hospital spokesperson Margarita Oksenkrug said in the statement.
In the lawsuit, Hassan is asking for a judge to compel the hospital or the division to correct the certificate and also for reimbursement to cover the costs of the lawsuit.
Officials with the city's Law Department, responding on behalf of the Health Department and its vital records division, said they are reviewing the case.
"We are reviewing the lawsuit and trust that an appropriate resolution can be reached," a Law Department official said in a statement.
