Woman Wins $1 Million Lawsuit Against Man Who Gave Her Herpes
Unsafe sex has a myriad risks, but for one man in Oregon, it was his bank account that took the biggest hit. A jury has decided he must pay nearly $1 million to a woman who says he knowingly gave her herpes.
The 49-year-old woman, who sued under a pseudonym, said that she had sex with the defendant on their fourth date, and that although she gave him a condom, he didn’t use it. Later that same night, he told her he had herpes.
She booted him out of her house, but a couple weeks later she had her first painful herpes outbreak. Her lawsuit alleged that the antiviral medication she took to control the disease caused her hair to fall out, and that the antidepressants she’s been on since her diagnosis have made her gain weight.
The man’s attorney called the woman “careless” and “money-hungry,” but the jury disagreed and awarded the plaintiff $900,000 for negligence and civil battery.
“The jury essentially said if a person knows he has an STD, he has a duty to inform a sex partner before, not after,” said Randall Vogt, the woman’s attorney, adding that he hopes the case encourages people to be “more careful and less reckless.”
[ABC News]