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A surgeon who contracted HIV from a patient in 1997 has settled his High Court action for damages.At a previous hearing the man, who cannot be identified, said he was diagnosed with HIV in 1997 after a flu-like illness. He said his 'life stopped' the day he was diagnosed.
For the three months prior to the diagnosis, he had operated on more than 100 patients and could not be specific about when he was infected. He said he knew he had sustained numerous needle stick injuries and said 'unfortunately one of them got me'.
The orthopaedic surgeon said he had to use screws, saws and chisels and there was a risk of contamination with blood from wounds.
The High Court was told the action against the hospital and the Attorney General was settled and could be struck out. No details of the settlement were disclosed.
The surgeon had claimed the defendants had failed to implement patient testing for HIV on 'economic grounds'.
He also claimed there was a failure to adopt risk management, infection control policies and training and educational programmes.
The defendants denied the claims. A statement was read in court on behalf of the hospital, which said it wished to make clear that it never intended to suggest that HIV had been acquired otherwise than in an occupational setting.
The man was forced to stop working as a surgeon after his diagnosis and has suffered from depression along with the physical symptoms of HIV. He has to undergo combination therapy for life for his condition.
He and his wife were extremely distressed and depressed about the future and feared for the prospect of having children.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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