The Washington Post has reported that a man who believed he was infected with the HIV virus for five years, as a medical clinic technician improperly diagnosed him, recently settled a medical malpractice lawsuit against the Whitman-Walker Clinic for $20 million for his emotional distress.
The entire battle, from diagnosis to settlement, took seven years. The legal battle between T.H., 52, and Whitman-Walker included judges in D.C. Superior Court and the D.C. Court of Appeals.
One week prior to the scheduled court case in D.C. Superior Court a settlement was agreed upon – the details of which are undisclosed.
The chief executive of Whitman-Walker, Don Blanchon commented, "We are happy to settle the case amicably." Jonathan C. Dailey, the attorney representing T.H., echoed Blanchon's remark and stated that the case was "resolved amicably."
Dailey stated that the settlement was made one year following the unanimous ruling made by the D.C. Court of Appeals. The ruling stated that medical patients, given inaccurate information concerning life-threatening illnesses by their doctors, can seek recourse for their emotional distress through the courts.
Dailey said that the ruling would allow other cases with like-circumstances to proceed. Dailey added, "We changed 25 years of law. Now if a doctor misreads information, a patient can sue for negligent emotional distress."
According to Dailey, because of the five-year-long misdiagnosis T.H. suffers with post-traumatic stress disorder. Dailey said, "The effects of those five years have not worn off completely."
At the time of T.H.'s false diagnosis, his then-girlfriend suggested he be checked for HIV as she herself was infected. Of the two tests T.H. took at Whitman-Walker, one result was positive. Doubling the misdiagnosis, a physician that failed to review T.H.'s records instead began counseling him about the disease.
For four years following the diagnosis T.H. suffered with depression, left his job, starting taking drugs and consuming alcohol. Due to suicidal thoughts, T.H. was twice committed to a psychiatric ward.
Whitman-Walker, though only monitoring T.H. and not treating him, set him up in a HIV-positive facility to reside in.
In an attempt at alternative treatment, T.H. learned through a routine blood test – in a different clinic – that he was not infected. He took another test a month later and received the same result.
The executive director of the Center of HIV Law and Policy in New York, Catherine Hanssens, commented, "Most people who find out they are not HIV-positive view it as good news — they don't run out and get a lawyer. Doctors are not infallible, and patients have to realize [the doctors] don't, and should not, have the last say in their health."
This gentleman, trying to survive under extreme circumstances, will never get the last seven years of his life back. One can only hope that the settlement will help him with the medical care he now needs because of the misdiagnosis. If you have been hurt instead of helped by a doctor contact a medical malpractice attorney to file your lawsuit.