Chances for lawsuit? - Herpes Message Board

jlm1972 · 10-31-2004, 12:45 AM

If I have a blood test showing my neg. HSV results and a positive test say 6 months later does anyone think I may have a chance to file a lawsuit against somone who knowingly infected me? My intial blood test, according to my doctor, indicates that I've never had exposure to either type 1 or type 2. I know she got cultured back in 2000 and it was positive for GH type 1. Even if I could just get her for any medical expenses related to this would give me some satisfaction. I go back and forth with this and I'm waiting to have my second test done but this girl's attitude towards this situtation is beyond belief. It's pushing me to take this to a new level. Now I find out she was sleeping with her male roomate and never told him either. I have no desire to know the details of this relationship but I'm betting he just may have it too. She actually told me she had planned on a casual relationship with this guy. How in the hell could you live with someone knowing you had this and begin that kind of relationship and not tell him. This is just beyond insane. I feel like I've just met the world's greatest actress. Utterly amazing...

J

Jaclynann · 10-31-2004, 03:28 AM

You may............
This may be a bit of a long story, but here goes.....
My "ex" gave me herpes. He knew he had, but didn't tell me. (However, I couldn't prove he knew he had it - he had never been diagnosed by a doctor)
I was then diagnosed and of course told him right away. He said..... yeah, you probably got it from me!!!! When we broke up, I told him - Now you have no excuse - You KNOW you have herpes. The next girl you're with, you have to tell them you have H. Well, a few years passed and I get a phone call from this girl that went with him. She asked me if he had given me herpes......... seems he did the same thing to her. Never told her he had it and she ended up with herpes. So, she contacted a lawyer. It initially cost her a lot of money - she had to retain the attorney and the suit took about a year to prepare (there isn't much precedence out there). I agreed to testify (he still has never seen a dr. about his herpes) that he knows he has herpes. They had a pretrial conference and they agreed to settle out of court (for an undisclosed amount). But I guess he pays her every month until the amount is paid off. It helps toward her medical bills (she has no insurance), but it's also the principle of the matter too. The lawyer put it like this - if you offer someone a ride in your car, and you know you have no brakes - you HAVE to tell them..... otherwise you are negligent and are endangering them. Everyone has the right to make an INFORMED decision. Don't know if that helps..... but good luck! Let us know how it goes.

zorba · 10-31-2004, 10:35 PM

"Jac" is right, you can sue and recover but one thing to consider is if she has any money to begin with. If she doesn't, and she can barely take care of herself then it's probably not worth it because even if you get a judgment against her she won't be able to pay. From what you wrote about her she sounds like a loser to me.

Good luck.

Nonexist · 11-03-2004, 10:03 AM

I think the guy who settled out of court must be a dummy, lol! The accuser would have to show their negative blood test (a negative culture would mean nothing), then the positive test. Then, the trick is to prove that the person you’re trying to sue is the only person you had sexual contact with in between the dates of the tests, which is impossible. Without a previous negative, a case could be made that one had the virus previously, using the old “90% don’t know they have it” statistic. Of course the accuser would be willing to waive the right to keep medical records confidential, but medical records of the accused remain inadmissible (I think?). The only way you could have a case is if the person confesses to knowingly exposing the other. Remember, doctors are still telling people that they can’t infect someone else without a visible outbreak. So one could know that they had it, not tell the partner, and still not “knowingly” be putting them at risk.

Maybe my info is flawed, but that's how I see it.

Nonexist

greengirl1031 · 11-14-2004, 02:15 AM

i agree with nonexist. i live in california and just finished law school and taking my bar exam. i would never take a case for a person with herpes who wanted to sue the person they got it from, even though on principal i totally agree that the person who gave it to you should have told you. the problem is that it is just nearly impossible to show with evidence who you got it fromm since herpes can lay dormant for so long and, (what is it now?), nearly 75% of the population has it.
i say forget the lawsuit and worry about moving on with you life. don't let herpes control any more of your time than it has to.