'It felt like a death sentence'

[killadoob]

I do not think you can determine how you contract HIV.

Could be as pete says but i dunno i think he left her because she had HIV. Not lekka but that's life i guess. Maybe she did have an affair and got lucky and blamed the paramedic and walked away with 2m.

You never know

 

[PeterCH]

My question, and I am in no way doubting the findings of the legal system, is how do they prove that it was the paramedic who transferred the virus to the woman?

It depends on whether he followed correct procedures or not. If he was using the same gloves to handle both patients who both had open wounds he was at fault.

There has to be a measure of doubt, surely? Could she not have contracted the HIV somewhere or somehow else?

It is possible. It depends also on when she tested positive and whether she had prior tests (eg for insurance purposes). If she was found HIV positive a few weeks after the accident with a HIGH viral load (virus count in the blood) and with a prior recent HIV negative test then it would have been likely she acquired HIV during the aftermath of this accident. Her husband is HIV negative. She may have had an extra marital affair but that would be difficult to prove. Perhaps she was a known, respected member of the community and many people vouched for her. Anyway I'm not a lawyer but these civil cases are usually decided on what is more likely. With the testimony of an infectious diseases expert and a private emergency medicine consultant they could have had expert evidence on whether or not the virus could have been transmitted given the procedures and amount of blood likely present on the scene. Perhaps he dumped her in a stretcher soaked with blood from the dead victim or worked on her while she lay in a pool of blood from the other victim.

Is there a medical procedure to determine exactly where and how the virus was contracted?

No. However it may be possible to match HIV strains based on RNA sequencing. This was not what happened here surely.

If if it only a question of this being the most likely occurrence that she could have contracted HIV, I feel that the KZN Health Dept. have been dealt with a bit harshly.

It depends on whether infection control measures and patient safeguards were followed. If not, whether they were mandatory in their protocol or standard operating procedures - if not then the whole department is negligent and has to cough up. If only the paramedic messed up than his insurance will cough up. At the end of the day we follow infection control procedures to protect both the care giver, the patient and the public. If someone does not follow them, well it sucks to be them.

 

[killadoob]

Just because you are well known respectable person does not mean you are an angel.

Most murders and pedophiles and are respectable people so that means nothing really(not in this Country though

 

[PeterCH]

Just because you are well known respectable person does not mean you are an angel.

In this case her character was not on trial. However, even if it was, in most cases testimony from others vouching for the character goes a long way.

Most murders and pedophiles and are respectable people so that means nothing really(not in this Country though

Do you have a citation for that? I mean, did you just make that up or do you have facts to back it up? Most sex offenders are repeat offenders for example. You do know that women are less likely to be involved in sexual extra-marital affairs then men. Also its often difficult to hide such an affair when you are well known, and respectable i.e. when your life is scrutinised.

 

[killadoob]

No females just get caught less than males in my opinion. Men are sloppy and not very good at lying. Females however are extremely good at hiding things so i am not convinced men are more likely to cheat, they just get caught more.

Well i watch tons of crime and investigation and most of the time murders and such are not rubbish criminals, they are fathers, respectable people. So i am not saying every murderer is but appearances do not always paint the full picture.

 

[PeterCH]

No females just get caught less than males in my opinion. Men are sloppy and not very good at lying. Females however are extremely good at hiding things so i am not convinced men are more likely to cheat, they just get caught more.

I think that's all just your own opinion and not fact.

Well i watch tons of crime and investigation and most of the time murders and such are not rubbish criminals, they are fathers, respectable people. So i am not saying every murderer is but appearances do not always paint the full picture.

No. What you watch are shows designed to pick up cases featuring intrigue, which usually means well off, respectable people involved in celebrity or family murders (wife kills husband or vice versa over jealousy or for insurance). You are not watching a random statistical sample, but handpicked cases with enough saucy stuff to make a 45 minutes show, from tens of thousands of boring ones involving drug dealers/pimps/sociopaths/muggers/etc. You won't hear drug dealer a kills drug dealer b in such shows. But watch 48Hours and you'll mostly see ex-cons killing innocent people or other low lifes.

 

[killadoob]

Ummm you do not watch the channel i guess LOL

Of course they show drugs dealers, pimps. They show murders from members of the community to gang members, they even show how dna can be faked and how many people sit in jail that did nothing wrong. They even have parking wars and females cops . Most entertaining channel on dstv. Could sit and watch it for 8 hours a day if i had the time .

 

[PeterCH]

Ummm you do not watch the channel i guess LOL

Of course they show drugs dealers, pimps. They show murders from members of the community to gang members, they even show how dna can be faked and how many people sit in jail that did nothing wrong. They even have parking wars and females cops . Most entertaining channel on dstv. Could sit and watch it for 8 hours a day if i had the time .

What they show are handpicked cases full of intrigue. "48 Hours" however shows the common stuff - most of their stuff is about drug deals gone wrong or killings of people by angry youths in very low socio-economic strata. Watch that series, it's on C&I.

 

[MrMikey]

It depends on whether he followed correct procedures or not.................................................................................................. If someone does not follow them, well it sucks to be them.

Thank you PeterCH for a very informative post.

I have done a bit of "Google" research in the last hour or so, and it would seem as though the ability to determine exactly how (or through whom) the HIV was contracted remains open to debate.

As such I find it somewhat disconcerting that a judicial system can find a party guilty of "infecting/contaminating" someone with HIV, without evidence that is 100% "proof positive"


.

 

[PeterCH]

Thank you PeterCH for a very informative post.

I have done a bit of "Google" research in the last hour or so, and it would seem as though the ability to determine exactly how (or through whom) the HIV was contracted remains open to debate.

It's a matter of circumstance but there are statistics one can cite. One can look at previous HIV tests, the individuals risk factors for HIV acquisition and
one can look at viral loads as these tend to be very high very early in the disease as well as very late (when a person is very sick already).

As such I find it somewhat disconcerting that a judicial system can find a party guilty of "infecting/contaminating" someone with HIV, without evidence that is 100% "proof positive"

You're confusing criminal cases with civil ones (this one). In criminal cases, at least in the US, one has to prove something beyond all reasonable doubt. In civil cases it's a simple balance or if something is LIKELY or not. Hence OJ Simpson got off scott-free in the criminal case, but in the civil he was found guilty - the burden of proof was not as heavy there. It's similar here. IANAL.

It is however far easier to prove whether the paramedic was negligent or not, and whether or not the department was negligent or not. As said, those measures are to protect people from HIV, Hepatitis and a few other infections. That's their purpose. If they showed that this woman likely acquired HIV in the 6 month period around the accident and the guy had her lying in a pool of blood of a known HIV person (or highly likely given the high rates of HIV/AIDS in SA) - well it becomes plausible that she was infected that way and he has to cough up. Don't worry though, paramedics usually have insurance.

 

[D3x]

I always carry latex gloves a one way breather for CPR. You never know when you might need to use it.

 

[Retalic]

im sure her ex husban is kicking himself for leaving her after she got all that money!

 

[Rate My ISP]

im sure her ex husban is kicking himself for leaving her after she got all that money!

Did you join MyBB just to say that?