Doust v. Doe, Superior Court of New Jersey, Middlesex County, Complaint, Lambda Legal and Kathleen Dunnigan, Esq.

Categories

• Confidentiality
• Health Care and Insurance Issues
• HIV as a Disability Under Antidiscrimination Law
• Public Accommodations

Resource Type

Pleadings and Briefs  

Description

An HIV-positive patient sued his dentist under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) and the AIDS Assistance Act for the dentist's refusal to provide routine dental care because of the patient''s HIV status. The dentist also inapprorpriately disclosed the plaintiff's HIV-status to a third party uninvolved in the plaintiff's care. In defense of his refusal to treat the plaintiff, the dentist claimed that his staff felt unsafe and that treating an HIV-positive person required special equipment and cleaning practices. The complaint highlights the fallacy of the dentist's arguments, pointing to the American Dental Association's position that standard practices are completely adequate to protect dentists and dental workers from risk of HIV infection through patient contact, and that it is medically and scientifically unwarranted and unethical for dentists to refuse to treat individuals solely because of HIV status.

 

File

Click here to download this document [ 192.44 kB ]  

Published

2002-August-02