Australian Wife Sues Over HIV Status of Ghanaian Husband

An Australian WOMAN infected with HIV is suing two doctors who knew her partner had tested HIV-positive but did not warn her she was at risk.

The 28-year-old mother of two, known as PD, contracted HIV when the pair began having unprotected sex after what she believed to be negative tests in November 1998.

She is suing Nicholas Harvey and King Weng Chen in the NSW Supreme Court for not telling her about her partner's positive HIV status after their visit to an Alpha medical centre in Marrickville in suburban Sydney.

Her barrister, Jay Anderson, argued yesterday that the couple were consulted jointly about the tests at the clinic and should have been told about each other's results.

"It is alleged Dr Harvey failed to communicate the fact to his own patient, to tell the plaintiff that her partner was HIV-positive," Mr Anderson said.

He also claimed Dr Chen, who later gave PD's partner his results, failed by not adequately warning about the risks of transmitting the virus and did not organise follow-up consultations with the couple.

In evidence, PD said she and her partner, who was from Ghana but in Australia seeking residency, went to the clinic to be tested to ensure both were disease-free. "I was using protection because I was very particular about not getting infected . . . and he came from Africa and I'm aware that the rate of infection from HIV there is quite high," she said.

She later collected her results, which were negative, from a receptionist but was unable to pick up the other set because they were confidential.

PD later told her partner the good news and he responded that he too was HIV-negative and showed her a "result" sheet.

Six months later, they married and she became pregnant.

The truth came out during the pregnancy when PD's husband asked her to look for some immigration documents in a suitcase.

"He was going through a difficult time because he wanted to stay here . . . he asked me specifically to go through his suitcase of documents," PD said.

"Whilst I was doing that, I came across a test result which had his name on it and it said he was HIV-positive and hepatitis B- positive as well."

Defence counsel Ian Harrison SC argued there was nothing more the doctors could have done to warn PD without breaching the confidentiality of her partner.

But Dr Linda Mann, a specialist in training GPs on HIV issues, disagreed. She said the doctors could have contacted their medical defence organisation for advice and NSW Health, whose staff might have visited the couple and explained the risks of having unprotected sex.