Legal Question in Personal Injury in Virginia

Intentional STD infection

I have reason to believe that I was intentionally infected with Herpes. Prior to sexual activity I asked that we be tested and my partner replied that he had just given blood and was tested recently and that he was clean. I have annual screenings and had never tested positive for anything so I let it go. Upon further research I discovered that giving blood does not make you STD free, so I ended up getting tested for STDs. I then tested positive for Herpes. At this point I told my partner to get re-tested because I tested positive, and to show me his results. While his �tests were coming back� we engaged in unprotected sex- he said that he didn�t have it and was not worried about getting it. He never felt the need to stop having sex with me or to use condoms as I advised. Since then we have broken up but I would like to know if he intentionally infected me. I recently asked for his results and he said that he does not owe me anything and he may or may not let me see the results. I feel that he knew he was infected from the beginning and continued to have sex with me unprotected because he knew he already had herpes. He has not admitted this to me- nor has he provided evidence that he is clean. Are his actions against the law?


Asked on 8/02/05, 8:14 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: Intentional STD infection

Probably not, but even if they were, there's obviously a problem with the issue of proof.

Furthermore, if you were thinking about suing this former partner civilly, one of his defenses might well be assumption of the risk, i.e., even after you had reason to believe that he might be herpetic, you, nevertheless, by your own admission, continued to engage in unprotected sexual activity with this person.

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Answered on 8/03/05, 9:45 am


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