Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in New York

Re: I'm being sued

Yes, there is a cause of action in NY for transmission of such diseases; however, the plaintiff must prove that you knew or should have known that you had the disease.

-- Kenneth J. Ashman; www.AshmanLawOffices.com

This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship, which, under the policies of Ashman Law Offices, LLC, can only be created by the execution of a formal retention agreement.

Re: I'm being sued

Dear Reader:

In examining this response, please note that we are not entering into an attorney/client relationship, that this is to be taken as informative, and not as legal advice, that it is always best to speak to a lawyer in your area and/or in the area where the transaction and/or events occurred, and that my answer is necessarily limited by the fact that I have not seen the documentation or had an opportunity to go over the matters with you in detail.

I have heard of such cases, although they are rare. If there was any doubt about the viability of such cases, however, this doubt probably ended when there was also a very big case in upstate New York where a young man was arrested and sent to jail for knowingly passing along the AIDS virus. If he had money, he certainly could have been sued. Simple VD would not seem to be too much different form that.

Save the voicemail for your records. I suggest hiring a lawyer, but first look at any homeowners or other insurance that you may have, and notify the carrier if there is any hope that it is covered. Stranger things than this have been covered by insurance; that's why you buy it.

If you know you did not pass around VD, and you are the victim of bad-mouthing by this partner, you may have a right to sue for defamation of character. However, you only have one year from the statement to get this case going, so you will have to find out.

I leave it to both you and your partner to figure out how to prove you were diseased or disease free at the relevant time.

Good luck.

As I mentioned before, this is something that you will want to take up with a lawyer of your own selection, either in your state or area or in a place where some of the pertinent events occurred.

Rod Kovel Attorney at Law 516-312-9900