AIDS PHOBIA, PUBLIC-HEALTH WARNINGS, AND LAWSUITS - DETERRING HARM ORREWARDING IGNORANCE

Courts in more than a dozen stares have decided cases in which a perso n has claimed money damages for his or her fear of getting acquired im munodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Although most courts have rejected suc h claims in the absence of actual exposure to the human immunodeficien cy virus (HIV), their reasoning has varied slightly from state to stat e. This article argues that negligence law should not permit people wh o are HIV negative to recover damages for an unfounded fear of AIDS. P ublic health statements intended to educate the public about preventin g HIV transmission may have encouraged some fear-of-AIDS lawsuits agai nst health care practitioners. Although well intentioned, such stateme nts have been used to justify inappropriate restrictions an medical pr actice and disclosure of a practitioner's HIV status. To avoid such mi suse, such statements should be revised to make dear that the way in w hich procedures are performed, not who performs them, determines HIV t ransmission.