Getting or transmitting a sexually transmitted disease is not only a health matter; it could be a legal matter, too. Though laws vary greatly from state to state, most states have laws regarding the disclosure of health status, the transmission of STDs, and the handling of confidential medical information. Read on to find out more.
-
You may face criminal charges for passing an STD to someone else.
Compared to a civil case, a successful criminal case requires more substantial evidence. In many states, punishments include jail time and high fines.
-
You may face civil charges for passing an STD to someone else.
While criminal charges are usually concerned with punishing wrongdoing, civil charges are often focused on providing just compensation to someone who has been wronged. And that compensation can be big. An Oregon woman sued a former sexual partner for giving her herpes and won $900,000. In the civil suit, her partner was found 75 percent negligent (she was found 25 percent negligent) and was found to have committed battery.
Related: Can you get sued for an STD?
Another woman sued her former partner for giving her HPV that led to genital warts and cervical dysplasia, a precancerous condition. She won and was awarded $1.5 million. And that’s just peanuts compared to the supposed $52 million settlement a woman received after she claimed that her former partner, the boss of the real-life “Wolf of Wall Street,” gave her chlamydia that made her infertile.
-
You can be charged if you transmitted an STD and knew you were infected.
In many states, like Washington State, knowing you have an STD and infecting a partner is illegal. Many states have different charges depending on whether the transmission was intentional—i.e., you meant to do someone harm—versus reckless—i.e., you didn’t think about it, or it happened anyway. In states like New Jersey, you can be charged with attempted murder if you know you’re HIV positive and attempt to infect someone intentionally.
-
Even if you didn’t actually transmit the infection, you may still be charged.
In some states, like Alabama and Tennessee, you can be charged for engaging in sexual activity while knowing you are infected, even if that sexual contact does not result in transmission.
-
Even if the sex was consensual, you can be sued.
In most states, infected partners who transmitted a disease are legally protected if, prior to sexual contact, they informed their partner of their health status and their partner consented. But two states, Kansas and Washington, do not explicitly state that defense.
-
Even if you used protection, you can be sued.
A man in Iowa was sentenced to 25 years for transmitting HIV even though he used protection. The Supreme Court of Iowa has since tossed out the sentence.
-
HIV is often treated as a special case.
Transmitting HIV to someone is considered a serious offense in the eyes of the law, and many states’ laws reflect the difference between HIV and other STDs. Some states have even handed out prison sentences for failure to disclose HIV status to a sexual partner.
HIV can also be transmitted through other means, and in some states, like California and Iowa, it’s a felony to donate blood, tissues, and organs if you know you are HIV positive.
-
In the past, an HIV-positive status could be a bar to immigration, but that isn’t the case anymore.
For over 15 years, foreign nationals could be denied visas or permanent residence status in the United States if they were HIV positive. The law was changed in 2009, and HIV-positive status is no longer a bar to entry.
Related: 10 non-profit organizations for help with immigration
-
Doctors can be sued for revealing that someone has an STD.
Multiple cases arose in Wisconsin over doctors revealing someone’s HIV-positive status, which constitutes a breach of doctor-patient confidentiality, but that’s not the only situation in which a doctor can be sued. Interestingly, a woman in New York sued a doctor for telling her she was HIV positive because she hadn’t consented to testing and didn’t want to know.
-
Institutions can be sued for transmitting STDs.
Johns Hopkins was recently named in an 800-plaintiff, $1 billion lawsuit over its alleged intentional infection of Guatemalans with STDs during studies that occurred in the 1940s and 1950s.
Find out more about the laws regarding STDs in your state by asking a question in Avvo’s forums, or for more in-depth information, you can speak with an attorney.
Related articles on AvvoStories:
21 comments
Jeremiah l Johnson
Is there any of these law's in Florida for STD
Charles
That's a terrible picture for your article. People suffer emotionally from the stigma of STDs. Please remove...you're just adding to the pain.
Matthew Cooke
The image has been updated. Thanks!
s pirie
Can I sue my ex-husband in Tennessee if he gave me Herpes when married since he did not tell me that he had herpes now I am on continual medication to control it and have to reveal it to every partner I am in sexual contact with?
Matthew Cooke
It sounds like you have several legal questions that would be best answered by a lawyer in our free Q&A forum. Lawyers do not provide advice through our blog, but they do in the forum -- usually within 12 hours. All questions are open to answers for seven days. You can post your questions here when you're ready: http://www.avvo.com/ask-a-lawyer. You can also browse previously asked questions and lawyer answers, or read legal guides that may answer your questions, here: http://www.avvo.com/free-legal-advice.
Ana C.
Im from the state of Washington and my husband of 18 years cheated on me and gave me herpes 2 and I was pregnant when I found out I was infected, the women he was being unfaithful with had to of had Herpes because I've never been unfaithful and he said that's the only person he had sexual contact besides me. What can I do? I suffered my whole pregnancy and still til this day my baby is 18 months. I wanted to report it but I wanted a private court. I don't know how that works but she's found this to other people and it's not human it's a horrific thing to keep something like this to yourself. Please help
Matthew Cooke
Hi Ana, I'm so sorry to hear about your situation. I would recommend locating an attorney using Avvo's Legal Directory. You can search by practice area as well as location to find one close to you. Avvo profiles contain an attorney’s experience as well as client and peer reviews. Many offer free consultations, so be sure to ask if you decide to contact them on your own or through Avvo. Here’s the link to get started on your search: http://www.avvo.com/find-a-lawyer I hope this is helpful.
Shayla
Can I be sued if someone I slept with, who had a possible STD (may or may not have been from me, unsure), slept with someone else and made that person infertile? I was unaware of the STD until the infertile person confronted me.
Matthew Cooke
Hi Shayla, It sounds like you have a legal question that would be best answered by a lawyer in our free Q&A forum. Lawyers do not provide advice through our blog, but they do in the forum — usually within 12 hours. All questions are open to answers for seven days. You can post your questions here when you’re ready: http://www.avvo.com/ask-a-lawyerhttp://www.avvo.com/ask-a-lawyer. You can also browse previously asked questions and lawyer answers, or read legal guides that may answer your questions, here: http://www.avvo.com/free-legal-advicehttp://www.avvo.com/free-legal-advice. I hope this is helpful!
renee
Is there a statute of limitations in time to report? Is that from first herpes outbreak or from doctor visit to confirm diagnosis of herpes? I contracted it in state of Washington and was not informed by partner who gave the std to me. Thank you
Matthew Cooke
Hi Renee, It sounds like you have several legal questions that would be best answered by a lawyer in our free Q&A forum. Lawyers do not provide advice through our blog, but they do in the forum -- usually within 12 hours. All questions are open to answers for seven days. You can post your questions here when you're ready: http://www.avvo.com/ask-a-lawyer. You can also browse previously asked questions and lawyer answers, or read legal guides that may answer your questions, here: http://www.avvo.com/free-legal-advice. I hope this is helpful!
Barbara Bennett
I was engaged for two years. We broke up and remained friends.
A year later, I went to the Emergency room thinking I had a really bad UTI and my doctor informed me that I had Herpes. I said that's not possible. I've only been with my ex fiance and he would of told me.
The next day I called John to ask him. He came right out and said "I had it for years. Don't you remember all the sites I used to get on my mouth?"
If I was in front of him.....
Can I sue?
Matthew Cooke
Hi Barbara, sorry to hear about this. I would recommend locating an attorney using Avvo's Legal Directory. You can search by practice area as well as location to find one close to you. Avvo profiles contain an attorney’s experience as well as client and peer reviews. Many offer free consultations, so be sure to ask if you decide to contact them on your own or through Avvo. Here’s the link to get started on your search: http://www.avvo.com/find-a-lawyer I hope this is helpful.
Luis
My partner's ex is threatening them that if he splits up with him, he will sue him for not telling him that he had HIV before they had sex. Can my partner still be sued even if his ex never got HIV from them having sex?
Matthew Cooke
Hi Luis, It sounds like you have legal questions that would be best answered by a lawyer in our free Q&A forum. Lawyers do not provide advice through our blog, but they do in the forum -- usually within 12 hours. All questions are open to answers for seven days. You can post your questions here when you're ready: http://www.avvo.com/ask-a-lawyer. You can also browse previously asked questions and lawyer answers, or read legal guides that may answer your questions, here: http://www.avvo.com/free-legal-advice. I hope this is helpful!
jor
Is a crime if you your wife give you herpes in tx
Matthew Cooke
It sounds like you have several legal questions that would be best answered by a lawyer in our free Q&A forum. Lawyers do not provide advice through our blog, but they do in the forum -- usually within 12 hours. All questions are open to answers for seven days. You can post your questions here when you're ready: http://www.avvo.com/ask-a-lawyer. You can also browse previously asked questions and lawyer answers, or read legal guides that may answer your questions, here: http://www.avvo.com/free-legal-advice. I hope this is helpful!
Nannette Wormuth
I am looking for a lawyer who will take on a case where I contracted herpes from an ex. I just recently found out that I was positive, he told me after a year of dating. He is from Tennessee and I know it is a criminal offense to engage in sexual contact without informing the other party of your STD
Matthew Cooke
Hi Nannette, I'm so sorry to hear about your situation. I would recommend locating an attorney using Avvo's Legal Directory. You can search by practice area as well as location to find one close to you. Avvo profiles contain an attorney’s experience as well as client and peer reviews. Many offer free consultations, so be sure to ask if you decide to contact them on your own or through Avvo. Here’s the link to get started on your search: http://www.avvo.com/find-a-lawyer I hope this is helpful. Kindly, Matthew
Jasmine N.
Can you sue the doctor if he waited 3 months to contact you about your STD HIV STATUS?
Matthew Cooke
Hi Jasmine, it sounds like you have several legal questions that would be best answered by a lawyer in our free Q&A forum. Lawyers do not provide advice through our blog, but they do in the forum -- usually within 12 hours. All questions are open to answers for seven days. You can post your questions here when you're ready: http://www.avvo.com/ask-a-lawyer. You can also browse previously asked questions and lawyer answers, or read legal guides that may answer your questions, here: http://www.avvo.com/free-legal-advice. I hope this is helpful! Kindly, Matthew