Majca v. Beekil

701 N.E.2d 1084 (1998)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Eileen (P) was employed as an office worker by Dr. Jorge Gaffud, a general surgeon. Her duties included scheduling appointments, cleaning the office, and emptying the wastebaskets. She emptied the wastebaskets before she left the office on Friday, March 1, 1991. On Monday, March 4, 1991, Dr. Lacher saw two patients. P did not know what treatment if any, the patients received and did not recall the identity of the patients. The following afternoon P again emptied the wastebaskets. P was the only person in the office that day because Dr. Gaffud was on vacation. Dr. Lacher's wastebasket was filled with trash. P pressed down on the trash to compact it so that she could grab the plastic liner. As she was withdrawing her hand, P felt a twinge, looked down, and saw that her hand was cut and bleeding. P saw that there was a scalpel in the wastebasket. In addition to her own wet blood on the scalpel, P stated that she saw dried blood and a clear, mucus-like substance on the scalpel. The surrounding trash consisted of used tissues, paper towels, scrap paper, and gauze. P went to a nearby hospital's emergency room. The cut on her hand required six stitches to close, and P was tested for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). P cleaned up the blood from her cut and then dumped the trash, including the scalpel, into the dumpster. P's HIV test was negative. Two subsequent HIV tests performed three and nine months after the incident, were also negative. P believed that Dr. Lacher was suffering from an HIV or AIDS-related illness at the time. After a few months, Dr. Lacher returned to the office on at least one occasion. P did not ask Dr. Lacher any questions regarding the presence of the scalpel in the wastebasket. It was the custom in the office to always dispose of scalpels and needles in a red 'sharps' container. Also, Eileen did not attempt to find out whether Dr. Lacher knew who had used the scalpel or if he knew on whom the scalpel had been used. Dr. Lacher later died of an AIDS-related illness on November 1, 1991. P sued D for negligence, ultrahazardous or inherently dangerous activities, and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Ps (husband and wife) sought damages for fear of contracting AIDS through sexual contact with P. Ds filed motions for summary judgment. Ds were granted summary judgment. The appellate court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court. The three-judge panel, however, did not agree on a standard for evaluating Ps' claim for fear of contracting AIDS. This appeal resulted.

On July 22, 1991, Northwestern (D) sent a letter to Ps and other clinic patients treated by Dr. Noe which stated in part: 'Recently we learned that a dental student involved in providing care to you in the Dental Clinic has tested positive for HIV, the virus that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). D offered free testing for HIV. Ps sought class certification and sought damages for their fear of contracting AIDS as a result of receiving dental treatment from Dr. Noe. Ps sought punitive damages. Ds filed a motion to dismiss, and the trial judge dismissed the complaint.