Court upholds HIV test negligence ruling

A Sydney woman who successfully sued two doctors after she contracted HIV from her husband has had the decision upheld on appeal.

A Sydney woman who successfully sued two doctors after she contracted HIV from her husband has had the decision upheld on appeal.Last year the Supreme Court found doctors Nicholas Harvey and King Weng Chen were negligent when they did not take steps to ensure the woman would learn that her husband had tested positive to HIV during pre-marital testing.The woman, known as “PD”, was awarded more than $720,000 in damages.The two doctors appealed against the decision but it was unanimously upheld in the Court of Criminal Appeal today.PD’s lawyer, David Hirsch, says the decision makes the duty of doctors very clear.”Today’s win really confirms what the trial judge said, and that was that doctors do have a particular responsibility when dealing with couples who come for information and testing together, to raise issues about getting test results,” he said.(Source: ABC Health News, March 2004)