CHERIE WILSON-WATSON, APPELLANT,
v.
DAX ARTHRITIS CLINIC, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, AND RICHARD A. SAITTA, M.D., APPELLEES
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Cherie Wilson-Watson, an emergency medical technician, was punctured by a contaminated hypodermic needle while responding to a medical emergency at Dax Arthritis Clinic. She sued for negligence claiming fear of contracting AIDS, but the trial court granted summary judgment for the clinic because all her HIV tests were negative and she could not prove the needle was HIV-positive. The appellate court affirmed, holding that fear of AIDS is not compensable without proof of both HIV presence and a medically accepted transmission channel.
The court affirmed summary judgment, holding that fear of contracting AIDS is unreasonable as a matter of law and not a legally compensable injury unless the plaintiff proves both that the virus was present and that her contact with it was a medically and scientifically accepted channel for transmission. Wilson-Watson failed to prove the virus was present.
[1] A plaintiff's fear of contracting AIDS is not a legally compensable injury unless the plaintiff proves both the presence of the virus and that the contact was a medically…
[2] A plaintiff must prove the presence of the HIV virus in the source of exposure to recover for fear of contracting AIDS.
Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“plaintiffs fear of contracting AIDS is unreasonable as a matter of law and not a legally compensable injury unless she proves both that the virus was present and that her contact with it was a medically and scientifically accepted channel for the transmission of the disease.”
Establishes the two-part test for negligence recovery based on fear of AIDS, adopted from Coca-Cola Bottling Co. v. Hagan.
Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWilson-Watson responded to a medical emergency at Dax Arthritis Clinic as an EMT. A clinic employee handed her a red contamination bag containing medi…
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WHATLEY, Judge.
Cherie Wilson-Watson appeals the partial final summary judgment entered in favor of Dax Arthritis Clinic, Inc. and Richard A. Saitta, M.D. in her negligence action. We affirm.
Wilson-Watson was working as an emergency medical technician when she responded to a medical emergency at Dax Arthritis Clinic, which is operated and supervised by Richard Saitta. When she arrived, a Dax employee handed her a red contamination bag used to dispose of medical debris accumulated during the emergency. Some time later, Wilson-Watson’s leg was punctured by a used, discarded hypodermic needle concealed inside the bag. The puncture broke the skin and caused bleeding. The needle was not tested for HIV contamination, but Wilson-Watson underwent multiple HIV tests over a two-year period, all of which produced negative results. She filed an action against Dax for negligence seeking to recover damages for fear of contracting AIDS.
The trial court entered the partial final summary judgment in favor of Dax in response to its renewed motion for summary judgment.1 The court found that there were no factual issues in dispute because, although Wilson-Watson had suffered the impact of the needle puncture, there was no evidence that she had suffered an injury in light of the fact that all of her HIV test results had been negative.
The trial court’s findings are correct and are supported by the first appellate decision in this state to address the elements of a negligence cause of action for fear of contracting AIDS. In Coca-Cola Bottling Co. v. Hagan, 750 So. 2d 83 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999), the Fifth District adopted the ma jority view and held that a “plaintiffs fear of contracting AIDS is unreasonable as a matter of law and not a legally compensable injury,” id. at 91, unless she proves both that the virus was present and that her contact with it “was a medically and scientifically accepted channel for the transmission of the disease.” Id. at 90. Although Wilson-Watson proved the latter, she did not prove the former. She admits that the needle that punctured her was never tested for the presence of HIV.
Moreover, her HIV test results have been negative for two years.
Accordingly, we affirm the partial final summary judgment in favor of Dax.
BLUE, A.C.J., and DANAHY, PAUL W., (Senior) Judge, Concur. . Wilson-Watson's second amended complaint also included a count for intentional infliction of emotional distress. That claim was settled. The trial court entered a final judgment incorporating that settlement and disposing of the negligence claim by partial final summary judgment.
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Cherie Wilson-Watson v. DAX Arthritis Clinic, Inc., 815 So. 2d 636 (Fla. 2002)…PER CURIAM. We initially accepted review of the decision in Wilson-Watson v. Dax Arthritis Clinic, Inc., 766 So. 2d 1135 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000), and subsequently stayed the proceedings pending the outcome of Hagan v. Coca-Cola Bottling Co., 804 So. 2d 1234 (2001). Thereafter, we directed petitioner to show cause why our decision in Hagan should not control the outcome in…
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Zivojinovich v. Ritz Carlton Hotel Co., LLC, 445 F. Supp. 2d 1337 (M.D. Fla. 2006)…ues, however, that Deputy Knott cannot recover damages based upon the medical testing, isolation from his wife, and mental anguish based upon his fear of contracting the AIDS virus. Alex relies upon Wilson-Watson v. Dax Arthritis Clinic, Inc., 766 So.2d 1135 (Fla. 2nd DCA 2000) and Coca-Cola Bottling Co. v. Hagan, 750 So.2d 83 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000). Neither case supports dismissal. Wilson-Watson was a negligence case, not a claim of an intentional battery, and addressed “the elements of a neg…
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- Coca-Cola Bottling Co. v. Hagan, 750 So. 2d 83 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999)
- Emilio M. Rojas v. G. Gonzalez Wholesale, Inc., 750 So. 2d 83 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999)