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NEW
ORLEANS DENTIST TO PAY $120,000 FOR REFUSING TO TREAT PATIENTS
WITH HIV
UNDER SETTLEMENT WITH JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/Pre_96/June95/331.txt.html
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A New Orleans dentist
will pay $120,000 in
damages for refusing to treat two
HIV-positive patients under a
settlement reached today with the Justice
Department.
Today's agreement follows a decision
last March by the U.S.
District Court in New Orleans finding Dr.
Drew Morvant in
violation of the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA). In its
decision, the court found that Morvant had
discriminated against
persons with HIV/AIDS by refusing to treat
them or referring them
to other dentists on the basis of their
HIV-positive status.
The Justice Department sued the
dentist in October 1993,
alleging that Morvant and his dental
corporation unfairly denied
routine dental services to Russell
Hodgkinson and Ismael Pena
after informing them the office did not
treat HIV-positive
patients.
Following the March 23, 1995 decision,
the district court
scheduled a hearing to determine
appropriate damages. In light
of today's settlement, the hearing is no
longer necessary.
"Both the law and medical experts
agree there is no
justification for dentists or other health
care providers to
refuse to treat people with HIV or AIDS,"
said Assistant Attorney
General for Civil Rights Deval L. Patrick.
"This settlement,
together with the court's ruling,
demonstrates that such
discriminatory conduct will not be
tolerated."
Under the agreement approved by the
U.S. District Court in
New Orleans, Morvant will:
pay $60,000 in compensatory damages to
Russell Hodgkinson;
pay $60,000 to the family of Ismael
Pena, who died from AIDS
in 1993;
make routine dental care available to
persons with HIV or
AIDS, however, he will be permitted to
refer such persons to
another dentist when the dental
treatment being sought or
provided is outside the dentist's area
of expertise;
post a policy of non-discrimination on
the basis of
disability, including HIV and AIDS,
and inform his staff of
the policy; and,
undergo training, along with his staff,
on dental treatment
of persons with HIV or AIDS, infection
control in the dental
workplace, and the ethical duty of
medical professionals to
treat persons with HIV or AIDS.
Title III of the ADA prohibits
discrimination against
persons with disabilities in places of
public accommodation, such
as medical and dental offices. Testing
positive for HIV and
having AIDS are both considered
disabilities under the ADA.
The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention ("CDC") and
the American Dental Association have issued
policy guidelines
that state there is no medical
justification for excluding
persons from dental care solely on the
basis of their HIV-positive or AIDS status. Both organizations
recommend the use of
"Universal Precautions" to prevent the
transmission of bloodborne
diseases, including HIV, in the health care
setting. Occupational Health and Safety Administration
regulations require
dental facilities to use Universal
Precautions in all dental
facilities for all patients, regardless of
known HIV or AIDS
status.
On the same day it filed the Morvant
suit, the Justice
Department also sued a dental office in
Houston for refusing to
treat patients with AIDS. In September of
1994 the defendant in
that case agreed to pay $100,000 in damages
and civil penalties.
In March, the Justice Department intervened
in a suit in Maine
against a dentist who also allegedly
refused to treat patients
with HIV or AIDS.
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