Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Times Mirror Company, Los Angeles Times; Saturday, July 1, 1995, Home Edition, PAGE: A-27
Bettina Boxall; Times Staff Writer
The physician, who died in 1992, ran a clinic contracted to perform physical examinations on FBI agents. Remaining anonymous, he sued the government in 1988 after the FBI stopped using him because he refused to tell bureau officials whether he had AIDS.
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision, filed Friday, marks the second time the San Francisco appeals court has ruled in the case. Previously, appeals judges sent the case back to a lower court for a non-jury trial.
This week the appeals panel reversed the lower court ruling favoring the FBI, finding that the bureau had violated the federal Rehabilitation Act and dropped the doctor solely because agents believed he had AIDS.
Rather than being concerned with whether the physician had AIDS, "the FBI's concern under the act should have been to determine whether [he] posed a substantial risk of communicating the disease," the three-judge panel wrote, with one dissent. The judges further cited the lower court finding that "if appropriate medical procedures are followed . . . the risk of transmission of infection from a doctor with AIDS to a patient in the course of a routine physical examination is remote."
Matthew Coles, director of the Lesbian and Gay Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the physician, said he believed the ruling was the first to favor a medical worker with AIDS or HIV, the AIDS virus.
After the physician's death, his partner pursued the case, which will now return to the lower court for a determination of damages. U.S. Justice Department attorneys could not be reached for comment.
950701
LT950701
Copyright © 1995 - Los Angeles Times. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Los Angeles Times, Permissions, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053. http://www.latimes.com.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Pacific Life Foundation and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1995. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 1995. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .