Legal Question in Health Care Law in New York

Re: False HIV results

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.

First thing, thank goodness the second test is negative. Someone was watching over you and your mother.

As for suing, I doubt you can win. Your situation is the exact reason why tests are done several times -- so you can know for certain. First tests are inexpensive and prone to occasional errors because the second, better test costs a fortune, and it doesn't make sense to spend that much money testing everyone the first time around. It saves money in the long run only to use the second test if there is reason to believe it will be positive.

Your doctor's bedside manner may be discomforting to you, but I'm not sure what else he or she could have done to keep you relaxed between the tests. I doubt you can sue the doctor for telling you the truth about your own health, and it would have been a mistake not to reveal the importance of the re-test, lest you skip it if you really had HIV.

In any event, you are fine, and that is 99% of the ballgame.

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