Jury Awards $2.5M For HIV Misdiagnosis
A Massachusetts woman recently won $2.5 million for damages suffered as a result of medical negligence. The woman underwent nearly seven years of treatment for HIV, even though she did not have the disease.
In 1994, the Family Practice Clinic in Fitchburg gave Audrey Serrano, a 45-year-old single mother, a positive diagnosis for HIV, the precursor to AIDS. Serrano received treatment for the disease at UMass Memorial Medical Center from Dr. Kwan K. Lai and others between 1996 and 2003.
Serrano sought another HIV test in 2003 at a different hospital, and the test came back negative.
The Lawsuit
According to the lawsuit, Dr. Lai failed to confirm the HIV positive diagnosis with further tests. The lawsuit accused Dr. Lai of negligence and claimed Serrano suffered depression, weight loss, intestinal troubles and fatigue from taking the unnecessary HIV drug cocktail.
Dr. Lai’s attorney, Joanne Gulliford Hoban, argued that it was not inappropriate for the doctor to rely on the medical history she received from Serrano. However, Serrano’s attorney, David P. Angueira, disagreed.
“It’s common sense. You test the patient. You don’t accept the patient’s self-diagnosis,” Angueira told the jury.
The Verdict
After two days of deliberation, the jury ruled in favor of Serrano. With interest, the verdict is expected to total over $3 million.
“She can’t do it to no one else. Clinic 7 now has to test everyone that comes to their clinic because of me. That’s what they should have done from day one,” Serrano said.