Woman who ‘thought she had AIDS’ loses her case
Needle mishap led to HIV test
A WOMAN who waged a sixday High Court case over the ‘distress’ she suffered after being asked to take a HIV test has lost her case.
Kathryn Singleton, 58, said she was asked to take the test after a doctor was pricked by a bloodied needle during a procedure to give her a pain injection.
Ms Singleton said she was told there had been an accident in theatre, and that the doctor mentioned HIV. She said the reason for the test wasn’t properly explained to her, and that she left St Columcille’s Hospital in Loughlinstown, Dublin, thinking she had AIDS, which she believed was a death sentence.
Giving judgment, Judge Bronagh O’Hanlon said Ms Singleton had sued the HSE following an incident on May 1, 2003, when she was a day patient. Ms Singleton from Liverpool, but who previously lived in Arklow, Co. Wicklow, had undergone a procedure for joint injections. She claimed that when she was coming out of the anaesthetic, a medic sought to take a blood sample.
She alleged this was done without her consent, and claimed she suffered severe inconvenience, distress and personal injury.
An anaesthetist told the court that he had explained to Ms Singleton at the time that it was standard hospital protocol that both the doctor and she had to be tested following a needle prick accident. He said the blood of both had to be checked for HIV and Hepatitis B and C.
The HSE denied she had suffered any injuries and cited her pre-existing psychiatric and psychological conditions the judge said.
Judge O’Hanlon noted that the plaintiff went to see her GP the following day, and a note from the doctor recorded that a HIV test was offered because a doctor had pricked himself with her blood. The judge said this indicated Ms Singleton had a clear understanding of the reason for the test.
The HSE applied for its legal costs to be paid by Ms Singleton. The court will hear arguments regarding costs next week.
‘Standard protocol’ after medic’s slip