Portland disease date lawsuit

Portland disease date lawsuit,A 49-year-old Portland, Ore., woman has won a lawsuit against a 69-year-old retired dentist after contracting a sexually-transmitted disease from him ; and now the man must fork over a huge amount of money in damages  The lawsuit — reportedly the first of its kind — rested on whether the man should have known his disease was perpetually contagious and whether the woman was also at fault An Oregon jury has awarded $900,000 to a woman who claimed a retired dentist infected her with genital herpes, in a rare case in which a dispute over a sexually transmitted disease went to a jury trial.
The 49-year-old woman, who filed the suit under a pseudonym, testified last week that she suffered painful outbreaks and spiraled into depression following a sexual encounter with the 69-year-old man she met through the dating website eHarmony.
"I told the jury he's dangerous, and I believe he is," said Randall Vogt, the attorney for the woman, who declined to be interviewed.
High-profile lawsuits accusing celebrities of herpes transmission have been in the news for a quarter-century, but such lawsuits remain relatively rare and typically do not go to trial. The award issued Friday is believed to be the largest of its kind in Oregon. A similar 1996 case ended in a $550,000 settlement.

Vogt said the cases are uncommon because they are difficult to prove and typically embarrassing for the claimants. Moreover, it does not make sense to pursue a civil lawsuit unless the defendant has the money to pay a potential judgment.
The retired dentist, whose name was also omitted from the lawsuit, has had herpes since 1991. He testified he did not know he was contagious because he was not experiencing an active outbreak at the time the pair had sex, which was during their fourth date.
Roughly 1 of 6 adults in the United States has genital herpes, and transmission can occur regardless of whether infected persons have visible sores, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The suit alleged negligence and battery. On the question of negligence, the jury found the man 75 percent responsible and the woman 25 percent. The jurors determined the dentist committed battery because he intentionally engaged in an activity that harmed his date.
"We all felt he should have told her," juror Noah Brimhall told The Oregonian newspaper. "He had the responsibility to tell her."
The dentist's attorney, Shawn Lillegren, argued that the woman was negligent because she did not demand that his client wear a condom. He also portrayed the woman as greedy in his closing argument to jurors.
"Go for a million — that's plaintiff's message," he said, according to The Oregonian. "God bless America. Go for it. Got some coffee to spill on me?"
Lillegren did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday; it was unknown whether his client is considering an appeal.
Vogt said his client handed the dentist a condom, but he did not wear it and "the advance overtook her too quickly."
Later, while the two were lying in bed, the man told the woman he had herpes, Vogt said. She asked him to leave.
The woman received a clean bill of health a few months before having sex with the man on May 25, 2010, and tested positive for herpes less than two weeks later. Vogt said the quick medical test was crucial in proving the case.
Besides suffering from painful outbreaks, Vogt said his client eventually lost a job because of her depression. The viruses that cause herpes are incurable, though symptoms can be managed with medication.
"It made her feel like she needed to isolate herself from society, and she became a recluse," he said. "She was interested in finding a husband but pretty much dropped efforts in that direction because of the herpes."
If you knew for sure that someone had given you genital herpes, would you sue them? One woman in Oregon did, and now she's won her case and is getting $900,000 for her pain and suffering. It all began when the 49-year-old woman met her 69-year-old date on eHarmony. They'd been out a few times and enjoyed each other's company, and then they had sex. She testified that she asked him to wear a condom and he agreed, but then suddenly he wasn't wearing a condom and "it was too late." As they lay together afterwards, he told her he had herpes. She got angry, understandably, and kicked him out of the house. Very shortly thereafter, she had a herpes outbreak and has since suffered from repeated painful outbreaks. She was prescribed anti-viral meds, but they caused her hair to partially fall out. She's also developed anxiety and depression. In other words, it's affected her life deeply.

For his part, the man, who is a retired dentist, swears he did not know he was contagious because he was not in the middle of an outbreak. Uh huh. He says that he didn't tell her about the herpes afterward because he felt guilty; he told her because "he liked her and wanted her to know there might be times when he had an outbreak and he would have to refrain from sex." Seriously, dude? If you really had her needs in mind, perhaps you should have told her BEFOREHAND and also worn the condom as you said you would.

The woman took the unusual step of filing a civil suit against the man. During the four-day trial, the dentist's attorney made the extremely classy argument that the woman was to blame since she failed to demand that he wear a condom because "everyone knows you're at risk for an STD." He also tried to argue that she was lying about her sexual history and could have gotten herpes from someone else. What a surprise! In the end, the jury found him 75 percent negligent and her 25 percent at fault. They awarded the woman, who is a dental hygienist, $900,000, and also found that he had committed battery because he intentionally harmed her—though he won't be prosecuted because the district attorney thinks they won't be able to prove anything "beyond a reasonable doubt." At least she's gotten some form of justice, and let's hope he's learned his lesson and will be informing future sexual partners of his condition well in advance.
The 49-year-old Beaverton divorcee was impressed when she met a 69-year-old Southeast Portland man on the Internet dating website eHarmony.

He seemed well-educated, charming and kind. They had a lot in common, including that she was a dental hygienist and he was a retired dentist. On the fourth date — an evening that included hors d’oeuvres, wine and a few puffs of pot — the two had sex.

The woman was looking for a husband. Instead, she ended up with genital herpes.

After enduring repeated painful outbreaks of the disease and spiraling into clinical depression, she filed a lawsuit. Last week after a four-day trial, a Multnomah County jury awarded her nearly every dollar she was asking for: $900,000 for her pain and suffering.

It was the first time a case of one person suing another for intentionally transmitting herpes went to trial in Oregon, said the attorneys who tried and researched the case.

Jurors were asked to ponder fundamental questions about dating and sex in today’s times: Was the man obligated to tell his date that he had genital herpes before they had unprotected sex? Did he truly not know that he was contagious even when he wasn’t experiencing lesions? And how much should a person be compensated for a disease, albeit incurable, that affects roughly 1 in 6 adults?

The jury deliberated for two hours before reaching a verdict: The man was 75 percent negligent, while the woman carried 25 percent of the blame. Two jurors, however, dissented, believing the man was entirely at fault.

Jurors also found that the retired dentist committed battery by intentionally engaging in an activity that harmed the woman.

Several jurors said they found the man’s behavior reprehensible and that the dental hygienist’s suffering was real.

“We all felt he should have told her — he had the responsibility to tell her,”

said juror Noah Brimhall.

During last week’s trial, the woman’s attorney, Randall Vogt, said his client had received a clean bill of health in January 2010 and then had sex with the retired dentist for one time on May 25, 2010. Within 11 days, she had a herpes outbreak — documented by her complaints to a doctor, he said.

The woman, who filed the case under a pseudonym, testified that she asked her date to wear a condom and he said OK, but the next thing she knew he wasn’t wearing a condom and it was too late. Afterward, as they were lying in bed and talking about the chemistry between them, she said he broke the news to her: He had herpes. She kicked him out of her house.

Her outbreaks, she said, have been repeated and painful. She took anti-viral medication, but it caused large amounts of her hair to fall out. She suffered from anxiety and depression, and the drugs she took for that caused her weight to balloon by 30 pounds.