Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press; Wednesday, December 3, 1997; 6:22 a.m. EST
Brigitte Greenberg Associated Press Writer
But the tiny wound created huge trouble for a Yale University intern, who now has the virus that causes AIDS.
The woman is suing the Ivy League university, claiming she was not trained or supervised on how to insert a line into an artery and that, as a result of the needle prick as she cared for an AIDS patient, her future has been ruined.
"She has had to change all of her life's plans," her attorney, Michael P. Koskoff, told jurors Tuesday as the woman's lawsuit came to trial. The woman, now a specialist in internal medicine at an undisclosed university, was allowed to sue under the pseudonym Jane Doe.
Yale attorney William J. Doyle said the case is a tragedy but that all health care workers face the risk of being stuck by needles. He said carelessness may have played a role.
"Needle sticks are inevitable. There is no way to guarantee they won't happen," Doyle said. "Regardless of the skill of the health care worker, regardless of the training ... one moment of inattention is all it takes."
Jane Doe was 25 years old, fresh out of the University of Chicago Medical School and only seven weeks into her internship at Yale-New Haven Hospital when she was asked on Aug. 18, 1988, to insert an arterial line.
As blood gushed through the tube, she pulled out the line and capped it with her gloved thumb to prevent the blood from spraying around the room. At the same time, the needle, which she was also holding, punctured her glove and thumb.
Though terrified, she resumed the procedure until the line was inserted properly. Then she fled the intensive care unit, removed her gloves, scrubbed her hands and tried to bleed out the wound.
It was to no avail: Six weeks later, she tested HIV-positive.
The woman, now 35, has had to give up her dreams of marriage, family and a private practice in hematology or endocrinology, her lawyer said.
She is seeking general and punitive damages plus court costs and attorney's fees. In addition to treatment she receives to arrest the onset of AIDS, she has been treated for depression.
Koskoff said the woman had only performed the procedure successfully once before and wasn't confident she could do it again, but wanted to impress her Yale supervisors.
Doyle said her supervisor had described a young woman brimming with confidence, who appeared competent when asked to insert the line. He said she had done similar procedures hundreds of times.
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