Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in Pennsylvania

Re: hiv misdiagnosis

There certainly have been cases based on a false positive diagnosis, e.g., of cancer, and no reason those wouldn't apply to HIV.

Certainly it's reasonable to expect a great amount of emotional distress from thinking one had this dreaded disease for a month, and that that distress wouldn't be offset by the relief of getting a clean bill of health.

However, I think the economic value of the case is doubtful if there was no physical harm from the false positive. In the cancer cases I mentioned, the scenario was that the client had undergone invasive surgery which turned out to be unnecessary.

Pennsylvania courts have been VERY hesitant to recognize claims for negligent infliction of emotional distress, which seems to be what this would be.

In addition, lab tests are not infallible and a false positive does not necessarily impose liability. It would be necessary to show negligence in the performance or interpretation of the result.

All in all, based just on the facts stated above, and assuming no permanent or physical harm from the incident, my reaction is that there might be a cause of action but it's not one my firm would be interested in.