Medic Infected Woman with HIV. 21/01/10
By Sapa
January 21 2010 at 07:17AM
A woman from Bedfordview, Johannesburg was infected with the HIV virus by a KwaZulu-Natal Health Department paramedic who attended to her, the Pietermaritzburg High Court ruled yesterday.
The paramedic attended to the woman after dealing with a pedestrian who died when the woman's car was involved in a crash.
The accident occurred near the Mooi River toll plaza on August 31, 2000.
The woman was taken to the Pietermaritzburg Mediclinic with a head injury. Three Johannesburg doctors and two specialists estimated that she became infected about the time of the collision.
Judge Shimon Patel said the paramedic had failed to ensure that no contamination occurred in handling the dead pedestrian and the woman.
The paramedic should have known that with the high incidence of HIV and two people with open bleeding wounds there was a risk of cross-contamination of blood. He should have taken all precautions.
Patel ordered that the Health Department be held liable for any damage the woman may be found to have suffered.
This article was originally published on page 4 of The Pretoria News on January 21, 2010
Published on the Web by IOL on 2010-01-21 04:25:00
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