Can You Sue For The Exposure To A Deadly Disease Even If You Don't Get Sick?
If you're exposed to a potentially devastating or deadly disease, can you sue even if you don't get sick? The answer is complicated and could depend a lot on the circumstances of your case. This is what you should understand about pursuing a claim for exposure to a disease.
You need to show injuries and losses related to the exposure.
You can generally expect the defense to argue that without any actual infection, there's no sufficient basis for a lawsuit. Any response is likely to ask how you can claim to be injured if you aren't infected and what possible monetary losses could you have suffered.
These are two important questions because most exposure lawsuits allege that the exposure was caused by someone's negligence. In order to make a successful personal injury claim against someone for negligence, you have to prove that you suffered both injuries and monetary losses as a result.
It takes a careful legal argument to make your case.
Despite the potential hurdles, lawsuits over the negligent exposure to a disease aren't uncommon. For example, a Las Vegas hospital is facing lawsuits over the exposure of patients to tuberculosis—although not everyone who was exposed has tested positive. In another case, patients of a Seattle hospital are suing over their exposure to hepatitis and HIV by a drug-addicted surgical tech.
In order to meet the requirements of a negligence lawsuit, there are several things that can be considered part of the injuries for which you deserve compensation:
- How long do you have to continue being tested for the disease? For example, it can take 3 months before your body develops enough antibodies to HIV to be tested.
- Did the knowledge that you were potentially infected significantly interrupt your life? For example, if you were exposed to hepatitis, were you able to continue working or participating in your normal activities while you were waiting to find out if you were infected?
- Did you suffer pain during testing? Blood tests and other tests that show infection, like spinal taps, can cause you significant pain that deserves compensation.
- Did you suffer psychologically as a result of your exposure? If you sought counseling or became clinically depressed during the time that you knew you might be infected, that's something that could also be considered an injury. The cost of your therapy and any medications are also financial losses.
Take some time to consider these different possibilities while you consider whether or not you want to pursue your case. If you're unsure about whether or not you can proceed, talk with a personal injury attorney about your situation.