May 1998
A Yale Tale
by Scott Hess
Doc-to-be sues an Ivy League for HIV
Last winter, Yale University shelled out $12.2 million for a prick. A needle prick, that is. In a case presented to a Connecticut state jury, "Jane Doe" said she was infected with HIV at Yale Med School in '88, while performing a procedure for which she was not trained or supervised. Seven weeks into her internship at YaleNew Haven Hospital, the 25-year-old doc-to-be pricked her thumb after being ordered to insert a catheter into a PWA's artery. In court testimony, a nurse recalled the moment Doe stuck it to herself: "All she said was, 'There goes my life.'" Six weeks later, the intern tested positive for HIV.
According to the AP, the Ivy Leaguer lit into Yale for a cool $21 million for future medical bills, loss of income, pain and "the loss of her ability to enjoy life and the inevitable loss of her life itself." Yale's lawyer argued that the university should not be held responsible. After a three-hour deliberation, the jurors awarded her the lower figure. Doe, now 35, said she is practicing a medical specialty different from the one she would have otherwise chosen, so as not to put patients at risk.
The CDC estimates at least 5,000 annual needlestick exposures to HIV, but has documented only one case of doc-to-patient HIV transmission over the last decade, while 52 health care workers have gotten HIV on the job.
Scroll down to comment on this story.
Hide comments
Previous Comments:
comments 1 - 3 (of 3 total)
Tracey, RN, Annandale, VA, 2007-12-05 13:34:17
I feel the need to release the data is important as it helps providers evaluate what programs are working and what are not. I'm quite disappointed in the ability of the ASO in my community to connect with our community. MMC-NoVa sponsored a Health Fair Sat. that advertised for 6 months. THREE people came through all day. I wish to call out to the community, infected or not, to pull together and analyze the best means to directly help the cause to prevent & cure HIV.
Rayford Kytle, Washington, DC, 2007-12-04 10:32:37
We need to demand that the federal government launch a program to reduce homophobia, which fuels the epidemic, as do sexism and racism. As long as gay people are treated as second class citizens, many gay men will be ashamed of their sexual orientation , have sex in the dark with strangers,not practice safe sex and not tell their wives or girlfriends that they also have sex with men.
JIMMY MACK, SOUTHAMPTON, 2007-12-04 10:27:37
I have been living with AIDS for 20 years now and am an HIV/AIDS educator for 10 years. Hven spoken to thousands of students i know Abstince only programs DO NOT WORK! I also know that our current President is out of tought with reality and a complete and total idiot!
comments 1 - 3 (of 3 total)
