"[I]t is clear that the key to an enlightened
and compassionate response [to Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS)] is education and the planning and development of HIV [AIDS
virus] programs and policies well in advance of the occurrence of
the first case of HIV infection. The Commission believes that every
employer, school system, and community should start that education
and planning process now."
"[T]here are few matters of a more personal nature, and there
are few decisions over which a person could have a greater desire
to exercise control, than the manner in which he reveals . . . [an
HIV-related] diagnosis to others. An individual's decision to tell
family members as well as the general community that he is suffering
from an incurable disease, particularly one such as AIDS, is clearly
an emotional and sensitive one fraught with serious implications
for that individual. Certain family members may abandon the AIDS
victim while others may be emotionally unprepared to handle such
news. Within the confines of the prison the infected prisoner is
likely to suffer from harassment and psychological pressures. Beyond
the prison's walls the person suffering from AIDS is often subject
to discrimination"
"Ignorance and prejudice concerning [AIDS is] . . . widespread;
the decision of whether, or how, or when to risk familial and communal
opprobrium and even ostracism is one of fundamental importance.
Within the jurisprudence concerning the right to privacy, and in
recognition of the particularly personal nature of the information
potentially subject to disclosure under the state's program, the
court determines that the prisoners subject to this program must
be afforded at least some protection against the non-consensual
disclosure of their diagnosis." AIDS Workplace Law and Policy
|
ACCESS TO JUSTICE: OPENING THE COURTHOUSE
|
In order
for “equal justice for all” to be more than a hollow
promise, people require access to the courts that is
meaningful, with representation by qualified counsel, the
opportunity to physically enter the court and to understand
and to participate in the proceedings, and the assurance
that their claims will be heard by a fair and capable
decision-maker and decided pursuant to the rule of law. In
this white paper, we describe how these features of
meaningful access to the courts are increasingly absent. We
conclude by offering a series of proposals to bridge the gap
between the lofty promise of equal justice and the often
disappointing reality of justice on the ground.
|
Pdf 348 kb |
|
Aids
Activists Condemn Police Action
|
South
Africa's Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) on Monday condemned
the government's response to peaceful protestors demanding a
national HIV/AIDS treatment plan.
|
|
|
AIDS Employment Discrimination: Impact of Chadbourne v.
Raytheon |
As soon as
the company knew that it had an employee with AIDS who wanted
to return to work, it directed its occupational nurse… Despite
the assurance from Chadbourne's doctor, the local public
health department, the CDC and its own doctor, Raytheon would
not reinstate Chadbourne or attempt to accommodate his
physical handicap. |
|
|
AIDS
Workplace Law and Policy: A Systematic Analysis
|
"[I]t
is clear that the key to an enlightened and compassionate
response [to Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)] is
education and the planning and development of HIV [AIDS virus]
programs and policies well in advance of the occurrence of the
first case of HIV infection. The Commission believes that
every employer, school system, and community should start that
education and planning process now
|
|
|
Anger on ruling not to
prosecute-Ireland
|
Criticizes
the decision by Ireland's Director of Public Prosecutions not
to take legal action against the doctors and other former
medical staff named as being negligent in the Hepatitis-C
virus (Hepatitis C Virus) Infected Blood Products problem. |
|
|
Attorneys
want hepatitis trial moved
|
A judge was asked Tuesday to relocate the trial involving
one of scores of lawsuits stemming from a massive hepatitis
outbreak.
|
|
|
BASILE PAPPAS and THEODORA PAPPAS, H/W, v.
PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL INSURANCE CO. (PHICO) and THE
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY
CATASTROPHE LOSS FUND (CAT FUND) |
Court
dismisses HMO's claim for protection from tort cases under
ERISA; technically a health insurance case but ramifications
for disability insurance. |
|
|
Breach of HIV Confidentiality: Overview of Emotional Distress
Awards |
The goal
of the memo was to survey emotional distress awards in all
types of confidentiality case and in other comparable areas.
The bulk of the research focused on New York State cases, but
we also surveyed some types of cases in other states.
|
|
|
Catholic Children's Aid Society of Hamilton v. J.I.
|
The two
children in question were ordered Crown wards with no access to
either parent -- The mother, who was H.I.V. positive, was unable
to meet her parental responsibilities with regard to the two
children. Both children were ordered Crown wards with no access
to the parents -- The children's aid society argued that the two
children in question were in need of protection and sought an
order of Crown wardship with no access to the parents -- The
mother, who had come to Canada from Nigeria, was H.I.V.
positive, as was the second child, E. -- The mother was facing
outstanding criminal charges with regard to failing to disclose
her illness to E.'s father, who had contracted the disease --
HELD: An order for Crown wardship with no access to the parents
was made, as it was in the best interests of the children as it
would allow them to be adopted -- The evidence overwhelmingly
supported a finding that the mother did not have the ability to
meet her parental responsibilities to the children and that she
consistently rejected most of the assistance offered to her by
the society and the staff at the S.I.S. clinic to meet the needs
of the children -- The child O. was found in need of protection
as she was at risk of suffering physical harm on account of her
developmental stage and the mother's demonstrated lack of
ability to ensure her safety even during access visits, her
potential exposure to the HIV virus, as well as her past failure
to follow medical advice -- Furthermore, O. was at risk from
suffering emotional harm based on the mother's lack of ability
or willingness to be responsive to O.'s behaviour and need for
attention during access visits, and her failure to work with
society and daycare staff to facilitate the child's speech and
language development -- The child E. was in need of protection
as he had become infected with H.I.V. as a result of the
mother's deliberate actions, including her failure to obtain the
recommended medical care, and E.'s ongoing need to ensure that
his medications were taken regularly -- E. was also at risk of
suffering emotional harm, in part because of the issues he would
be facing being H.I.V. positive and the inability of the mother
to provide and/or arrange the support he would inevitably
require -- There was no air of reality to the mother's plan of
care for the children. |
Pdf 117 kb |
|
CHEVRON U.S.A. INC., PETITIONER
v. MARIO ECHAZABAL |
The court of
appeals correctly held that respondent is a "qualified
individual" under Title I of the ADA, but the court erred in
invalidating the EEOC's regulations and precluding petitioner's
defense that respondent's performance of the job posed a direct
threat to his own health or safety. By addressing threat-to-self
concerns as a regulatory defense to liability, the EEOC struck a
proper balance between the rights of disabled individuals to
work free of discrimination and employers' need to maintain a
safe workplace. Under the EEOC's regulations, an employer need
not hire an employee who poses a threat to self, but only if the
employer demonstrates, on an individualized basis, a real threat
to the employee's health. |
|
|
Colorado-DOC Prison
Hepatitis C
|
Rules and regulation concerning Hepatitis C Virus in prison system
|
Pdf 5,924
|
|
Confidentiality Vs the Duty to Warn HIV-Disclosure
Guidelines for Social Workers |
Mental
health professionals often feel caught in a legal dilemma
with respect to a client’s HIV status. On one hand, there is
the basic duty to keep client information confidential. This
is especially true of information about HIV-infection, which
can be embarrassing or harmful to the client if revealed to
others. On the other hand, there may be a duty to warn
others if the client poses some threat to them. |
pdf 35 kb |
|
Court Holds Hospital Has Duty to Warn a Third Party |
In a case
that greatly extends the duty of health care professionals to
take affirmative action to protect a third party with whom the
facility or professional has not had contact, the Corpus
Christi Court of Appeals recently held that: |
|
|
Criminal Law, Public Health and HIV Transmission |
A number of cases have been reported in which people living
with HIV have been criminally charged for a variety of acts that
transmit HIV or risk transmission. In some cases, criminal
charges have been laid for conduct that is merely perceived
as risking transmission, sometimes with very harsh penalties
imposed
|
48 kb pdf |
|
Criminal Law, Public Health and HIV Transmission |
A number
of cases have been reported in which people living with HIV
have been criminally charged for a variety of acts that
transmit HIV or risk transmission. In some cases, criminal
charges have been laid for conduct that is merely perceived
as risking transmission, sometimes with very harsh penalties
imposed. Some jurisdictions have moved to enact or amend
legislation specifically to address such conduct. The issue
has also received public and academic commentary. |
Pdf 865 kb |
|
Criminal Penalties for Attempted Exposure to Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) by Prison Inmates- Pennsylvania
Statutes |
A person
is guilty of this offense if he intentionally or knowingly
causes another to come into contact with blood, seminal fluid,
saliva, urine or feces by throwing, tossing, spitting or
expelling such fluid or material when, at the time of the
offense, the person knew, had reason to know, should have
known or believed such fluid or material to have been obtained
from an individual, including the person charged under this
section, infected by a communicable disease, including, but
not limited to, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or
hepatitis B. |
|
|
Criminal Prosecutions for HIV Exposure: Overview and Analysis |
There were few prosecutions relative to AIDS cases, and
prosecutions varied over time and between states. Prosecutions
for splitting, biting, and prostitution are excessive relative to AIDS
cases attributable to these modes of exposure. The findings
suggest that prosecutions are not likely to serve the public health
purpose of reducing HIV transmission from those who know
they are infected.
|
48 kb pdf |
|
|
|
Crown
speeds up process in blood scandal
|
OTTAWA - In a rare move, the criminal proceedings against
those charged in Canada's tainted-blood scandal have suddenly
been put on a fast track.
|
|
|
Discrimination: |
Yes.
People who are HIV-positive or who have AIDS are protected
from employment discrimination under both the Connecticut
Human Rights Law (CGSA §46a-60) and the federal Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA). Both of these statutes prohibit
discrimination in employment on the basis of a person’s
disability. |
|
|
CALIFORNIA DISCLOSURE LAWS |
That's a
matter of state law. Arkansas, for example (Ark. Code Ann
Sec. 20-15-903) makes it a misdemeanor for people who are
HIV+ to fail to inform their health care provider, which
would include an orthodontist; California does not. The Law
and Sexuality journal did a very comprehensive survey of
state HIV laws, most recently updated in 2004, that is
helpful for this sort of question |
|
|
Discrimination suit
Doe v. Lamb
LAMBS FARM SUED FOR EXCLUDING MAN BECAUSE OF
HIV-POSITIVE STATUS IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR
THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION |
Equip for
Equality today filed suit in federal court against The Lambs
Farm, Inc. of Libertyville, Illinois, on behalf of a 54-year
old man with a developmental disability whom Lambs Farm
refuses to serve because he is HIV positive. Lambs Farm is
a non-profit organization located on a 72-acre campus in
Libertyville that provides housing, vocational and
recreational services to adults with developmental
disabilities.
Legal
Brief: Doe is an adult with a developmental disability who
sought admission to the residential facility and to the
vocational services of Defendant, The Lambs Farm, Inc.,
(hereinafter “Lambs Farm”), and who is in all respects
eligible for and qualified to receive such services. He
initially received a positive response to his application,
but when Lambs Farm learned that Doe was HIV positive, for
that reason, and that reason alone, Lambs Farm terminated
the application process and rejected his application.
|
|
|
Doctor
Denies Blame in Hepatitis C Outbreak
|
Dr.
Tahir Javed, who is accused of using unsanitary practices that
caused the hepatitis C infections of 99 patients at his
Nebraska cancer clinic has denied any wrongdoing.
|
|
|
Early
Detection of HIV
|
Early
detection of HIV has important implications for both
prevention and treatment. Promoting HIV testing, and thereby
early detection, however, is a complicated task that must
balance the interests of public health, personal privacy, and
legislative efforts to curb transmission. This article
assesses the legislative context within which public health
officials must operate to promote early HIV identification.
Specifically, the article reviews United States laws regarding
HIV testing passed over the course of 3 years, 1997 to 1999,
at the state-not the federal-level.
|
|
|
Employment Discrimination |
Discrimination occurs in a variety of ways in daily life,
including employment. Some employment discrimination is
lawful and necessary (such as prohibiting the employment of
minors in certain occupations or before or after a
particular hour of the day). Most discrimination, however,
whether intentional or otherwise, is based on factors such
as race, gender, national origin and religion, and has
resulted in people who are discriminated against
constituting a disproportionate share of those living in
poverty. Over the years the law has begun to address these
inequities. |
|
|
ERISA Disability Litigation How To Sue Your LTD Insurance
Carrier In United States Federal Court Without an Attorney |
This
report is oriented to those persons who are disabled by
Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (a.k.a. CFIDS,
CFS, M.E.) and other so called "self-reported conditions" such
as Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) and Multiple Chemical
Sensitivity (MCS) who must sue to recover long term disability
benefits from employee benefit plan providers (insurance
companies). |
|
|
First Two Class Action Lawsuits in Northwest by Uninsured
Patients Against Nonprofit Hospital Systems and Hospitals
Filed in Federal Courts in the States of Oregon and Washington |
The first two class action lawsuits in the Pacific Northwest against
nonprofit hospital systems and hospitals for failing to fulfill their
obligations to provide charitable care to uninsured patients were
filed today
|
|
|
Hepatitis B associated with re-usable
medical devices
|
Fingerstick devices are widely used for
capillary-blood sampling for glucose monitoring in
patients with diabetes. In 1996, outbreaks of hepatitis
B virus (HBV) infection occurred among patients with
diabetes in an Ohio nursing home and in a New York City
hospital. In response to these outbreaks, nursing-home
and hospital personnel, state and local public health
officials, and CDC conducted epidemiologic
investigations. |
|
|
HIV disclosure rule comes under attack |
"Since that time I have been watching and studying that
data, and it turns out the risk to patients is virtually
zero," says Gostin, a professor at Georgetown University Law
Center in Washington, D.C. "At the same time, I have found
that health care workers have been literally hounded out of
the profession (because of disclosure). They have been
subject to a lot of discrimination and invasion of privacy." |
|
|
HIV-Rape
Trial Takes a Break
|
THE
High Court's first trial under the Combating of Rape Act in
which a suspect faces the allegation that he knew he was
carrying the AIDS virus when he raped a woman is set to
continue early next month.
|
|
|
HIV Found To Be No Disability |
A federal district judge dismissed a workplace
discrimination claim brought by an HIV-positive man on the
ground that the man's HIV infection did not meet the
statutory definition for disability because he had no
interest in having children. This is the latest of several
recent rulings suggesting that the federal American With
Disabilities Act (ADA) is unlikely to provide much
protection against workplace bias to HIV-positive gay men
who are staying healthy through medical treatment. |
|
|
Housing Assistance For Disabled Persons With Modest Incomes |
There are
at least eight kinds of housing aid programs financed by the
federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD),
the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Department of
Agriculture (DoA), the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) and the Department of Energy (DoE): |
|
|
Humana, Inc. v. Forsyth and Federal Claims Against Insurance
Companies |
The
application of federal law, especially RICO, to the
insurance industry should provide policyholders with
additional remedies to combat persistent and repetitive
practices of insurance companies that damage large numbers
of policyholders. The Court’s decision may also result in
the application of numerous other federal civil and criminal
laws, including federal consumer protection law and civil
rights law, to the insurance industry and HMOs as well. |
Pdf 82 kb |
|
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF KANSAS |
We hold
K.S.A. 2004 Supp. 21-3522 unconstitutional as violating the
equal protection provisions of the United States and Kansas
Constitutions and strike from the statute the words "and are
members of the opposite sex." We further hold that Limon's
conviction and sentence for criminal sodomy pursuant to
K.S.A. 21-3505(a)(2) violate his right to equal protection
of the laws. |
|
|
JUDITH LANG, aka Judith Clark-Lang, Plaintiff-Appellant v.
Long-Term Disability Plan |
Appellant
Judith Lang applied for long-term disability benefits under
her employee benefit plan. Appellee Standard Insurance Company
was the issuer and administrator of the plan. Lang indicated
an inability work based on job-related stress. Her symptoms
included crying, throwing up before work, inability to
concentrate, and insomnia. Standard applied the "mental
disorder" two-year limitation to her claim, applicable when a
disability was "caused or contributed to" by a mental
disorder. "Mental disorder" was defined as a mental,
emotional, behavioral, or stress-related disorder. The plan
was silent as whether the administrator should look to causes
or symptoms when determining whether the claimant had a mental
disorder. While receiving benefits, Lang was diagnosed with
fibromyalgia, a type of rheumatism which is commonly
accompanied by fatigue, sleep disturbances, lack of
concentration, changes in mood, anxiety, and depression. The
anxiety and depression are considered to be symptoms of the
muscular disease, rather than causes of it.
Lang requested
a reassessment. Standard refused to remove the mental disorder
limitation, explaining that it had found no objective medical
evidence to support her claim that she had fibromyalgia, and
that it still believed that her disability was caused or
contributed to by depression. Standard's quality assurance
unit affirmed on different grounds, stating that [11904] Lang
had failed to establish that her fibromyalgia, separate from
psychological factors, was disabling in and of itself and that
it considered symptoms, not cause, when deciding whether to
apply the mental disorder limitation. |
|
|
Last cases against Palo Alto lab worker dismissed |
Two people who believe they were infected with HIV and
hepatitis C by a lab worker who reused needles, plan to appeal
a judge's dismissal of their cases. |
|
|
Legal and Ethical Dimensions of Willful Exposure to HIV |
Behavioral research indicates that a substantial proportion of people
who know they are infected with HIV sometimes engage in unsafe
sexual or needle sharing behavior without informing their partners of
their infection
|
10 kb pdf |
|
Legislative
Survey of State Confidentiality Laws, with Specific Emphasis
on HIV and Immunization |
This
report examines current state and federal law protecting the
confidentiality of health information. It focuses on four
specific areas: public health information held by government,
privately held health care information, HIV and AIDS-related
information, and immunization information. |
|
|
Martin studies tainted blood lawsuit |
THE government
is considering hiring an American law firm to take a
multi-million-dollar case against US-based drug companies
implicated in infecting Irish haemophiliacs with HIV and
hepatitis C. |
|
|
|
|
Medical
malpractice law in the United States |
This paper
provides a brief overview of the issues surrounding medical
malpractice law. It begins by briefly describing how medical
malpractice law works. Following sections discuss the legal
changes that states have made over the past thirty years in
response to periodic concerns about rising medical malpractice
costs, some newer proposals for changing medical malpractice
law, and trend data looking at changes in the number of claims
and average and total claims costs |
930 kb pdf |
|
Medical
Methadone Maintenance: The Further Concealment
|
The physicians recruited for medical maintenance were the
first doctors permitted to prescribe opiates for maintenance
in private medical practice by the FDA and the DEA since the
passage of the Harrison Narcotic Act in 1914. Prior to the
establishment of methadone maintenance, physicians were
harassed and incarcerated if they prescribed narcotic drugs
for anything but the alleviation of pain.
|
|
|
Medical
Waste: It's Unregulated and Threatening the Health of the
Public and Environment Mail-Back Solutions to Disposal and
Transportation of Medical Waste Exist
|
An
unsuspecting child is stuck by a used syringe while retrieving
a ball that bounced into the neighbor's trash. A trash
collector is cut by a used syringe while transferring a load
into the truck. A hotel housekeeper reaches under the mattress
to change the bed and sticks her hand on a used syringe. Or a
homecare nurse drives her family around for the weekend with a
sharps container full of used patient syringes in the back
seat of her vehicle.
|
|
|
Microsoft
Loses Disability Case
|
Tom
Davis, a systems engineer who had worked at Microsoft since
1987 -- and in the software giant's Original Equipment Makers
group for more than 5 years -- was diagnosed in 1997 with
Hepatitis C, an incurable and potentially fatal liver disease.
|
|
NEW ORLEANS DENTIST TO
PAY $120,000 FOR
REFUSING TO TREAT
PATIENTS WITH HIV UNDER
SETTLEMENT WITH JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT |
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.
|
|
|
OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE – UNDERSTANDING THE LAW |
The statutory formula for compensability for occupational disease
is similar to that for accidental injuries, that is, “compensation for
personal injuries to or for death of such employee by any
“compensable” occupational disease arising out of and in the
course of the employment” Section 30. There appears to me to
be three essential elements of Section 30. There must be an injury
or death – due to a “compensable” occupational disease – which
must arise out of and in the course of the employment.
|
|
|
Patients
Seek Answers On Surgeon Who Spread Hepatitis
|
Former
heart surgery patients jammed telephone lines at North Shore
University Hospital in Manhasset yesterday in an effort to
find out whether they were operated on by a doctor who
apparently transmitted hepatitis C to several patients in the
course of surgery during the past decade.
|
|
|
People Who Pass On AIDS Virus May be Sued |
People
infected with the virus that causes AIDS may sue the
sexual partner who transmitted the virus to them even if the
partner did not do so knowingly, the California Supreme
Court ruled yesterday. |
|
|
Philadelphia Settles Lawsuit Over Alleged Discrimination
Against HIV-Positive Man by EMTs |
The city
of Philadelphia on Monday settled a civil-rights lawsuit
over alleged discrimination against an HIV-positive man who
said that city emergency medical technicians provided
inappropriate care after they leaned his HIV status |
|
|
PIERCING THE VEIL OF SECRECY IN HIV/AIDS AND OTHER SEXUALLY
TRANSMITTED DISEASES: THEORIES OF PRIVACY AND DISCLOSURE IN
PARTNER NOTIFICATION |
Secrecy
nurtures disease because it provides an environment conducive
to the spread of infection. Where the social construction of
sexuality and disease condones secrecy, sex partners are
unaware of the risks, and public health authorities cannot
track the epidemic in order to positively intervene. Not
surprisingly, one of the earliest recorded public health
strategies for STD prevention was to pierce the veil of
secrecy surrounding these hidden diseases by notifying sexual
partners ("contacts") of infected patients ("index" cases).
Sexual "contact tracing" was supported by the moral theory
that sexual partners could take precautions and seek medical
treatment if the risk of infection was disclosed. Once the
risks of infection were identified, the incidence of STD
infection would decline suggestively as infected persons
reduced behaviors that placed them at risk for disease. |
|
|
R. v. J.I. Between Her Majesty the Queen, and J.I. |
Sentencing of JI for failure to provide the necessaries
of life. JI was charged with and pled guilty to failing
to provide the necessaries of life to her newborn child.
JI was infected with HIV. She had given birth to one
child already with all of the appropriate precautions in
place. That child remained free of the HIV virus. JI had
been provided with extensive neo natal counseling during
her subsequent pregnancy but had bypassed all available
treatments and failed to inform medical staff during the
delivery of her HIV positive status. She insisted on
breastfeeding the newborn child, ESN, knowing that this
would increase the risk of transmission. ESN was found
to be HIV positive. |
Pdf 11
kb |
|
Rapid HIV Screening at the Point of Care-Legal and Ethical
Questions |
Early
in the HIV/AIDS epidemic, a concerted effort was made to
address the issues surrounding HIV-antibody testing and
confidentiality in a way that would respect the human rights
of individuals, yet at the same time promote the goals of
protecting public health. |
712 kb pdf |
|
REDDICK v CHATER |
This case
involves a claim for Social Security disability benefits by
Susan Reddick ("Claimant") who was diagnosed with Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome ("CFS"). The Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ")
found that Claimant suffered from CFS but that she was not
disabled because the disease did not undermine her ability to
perform substantial gainful work. The district court concluded
that the ALJ's decision was supported by substantial evidence
and granted summary judgment for the Commissioner. A principal
issue in this case is whether the ALJ was justified in
discounting the testimony of Claimant, her treating doctor,
and an examining doctor concerning her disability from
fatigue, and instead relying upon the testimony of two
consultative examiners who concluded that she was not
disabled. |
|
|
STATE OF OHIO, v JIMMY L. BIRD |
Amici
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. and The Ohio
Human Rights Bar Association submit this brief in support of
Appellant Jimmy Bird. Amici are vitally interested
in ensuring that individuals infected with the human
immunodeficiency virus ("HIV") or living with acquired
immune deficiency syndrome ("AIDS") are afforded the same
constitutional protections in the criminal context as are
all other individuals, and that the criminal law serve as a
vehicle for only legitimate state purposes. |
|
|
State vs Jones |
Attached
is Heather Sawyer's amicus brief in State of Ohio v. Bird,
also attaching a list of criminal transmission cases, some
of which may be relevant, and a spitting case out of New
Mexico where there was no evidence that the defendant
actually carried a communicable disease... one further
observation regarding the sufficiency of the evidence in
each case to amount to an "actual threat to the safety" of
the officer. We acknowledge that spitting or throwing
bodily waste may give rise to rational concerns about
infection or communicable disease. The jailers in the
Cordova prosecution argued as much. |
|
|
Supreme Court To Decide Whether Employer May Deny Job for
Employee's "Own Good" |
"Every job
involves some risks, but the question is, do we let people
make those risk assessments for themselves, or do we let
employers decide?" said James Esseks, Litigation Director of
the American Civil Liberties Union's Lesbian & Gay
Rights/HIV AIDS Project and primary author of a
friend-of-the-court brief the organization filed in the
case. |
|
|
The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome-Prognosis for Recovery from
Severe Impairment and Qualification for Disability Benefits |
The
current report briefly reviews the definition of the Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome and current methods of treatment. Then, a
number of recent research studies which examine long-term
prognosis for sufferers are examined in detail. It is
concluded that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is frequently an
extremely debilitating disorder with no available effective
treatments. Medical research has recently demonstrated that a
substantial proportion of individuals with Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome remain severely impaired indefinitely. |
|
|
The D.C. Court of Appeals |
The D.C.
Court of Appeals recently handed down an important en banc
decision reversing a trial's court order evicting a mentally
ill tenant whose messy apartment violated the lease. The
court found that the tenant's request for a stay of the
eviction proceeding to allow the tenant to receive services
to clean up the apartment and thereby cure the lease
violation constituted a request for a reasonable
accommodation that should have been granted. See Douglas v.
Kriegsfeld Corp., 2005 WL 2600210. |
|
|
The Dentist, HIV and the Law: Duty to Treat, Need to
Understand |
The advent
of the AIDS epidemic marked the end of a brief "golden age"
of infectious disease control that began with the first
polio vaccine in 1954, and ended in 1981 with the first AIDS
case reports. That brief golden age was when many
professionals were trained in their fields. It was a time
when everyone - dentists, infectious disease specialists and
the public alike - came to believe that the eternal threat
of epidemics had been vanquished forever, at least for those
nations wealthy enough to afford the latest technology |
|
|
The Duty to Warn
and Protect - Impact on Practice |
The authors discuss the concepts of the duty to protect
and the associated threat to confidentiality and their impact
on practice for Canadian psychiatrists. They review these
concepts and provide a synthesis of legal cases impacting
psychiatric practice. and conclude that the onus is on the
psychiatrist to make him or herself aware of the current state
of the legal obligation with respect to duty to protect. The
evolving concept of duty to protect has and will continue to
have significant impact on the practice of psychiatry. The
practice of medicine is increasingly subject to external
review and legislation. Both have a significant impact on
psychiatry in terms of risk assessment and the duty to warn or
protect third parties |
|
|
THE
PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY SYSTEM AND COLLABORATION WITH LEGAL
SERVICES PROGRAMS
|
P&As
are mandated under various Federal statutes (see next section)
to provide legal representation and other advocacy services to
all persons with disabilities. Indeed, P&As, collectively,
are the largest providers of legally-based advocacy services
to people with disabilities in the United States. These
services are provided through a variety of vehicles:
individual representation
|
|
|
The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS |
The Ryan
White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, the
nation’s largest HIV specific federal grant program and a
critical source of care and treatment for people living with
HIV/AIDS in the United States, was due to be reauthorized by
the United States Congress for the third time by the end of
FY 2005. However, Congress has not yet acted to reauthorize
the CARE Act, and the program’s authority has been extended
under current law while Reauthorization discussions
continue. |
Pdf 223 kb |
|
The Supreme Court and its Impact on the HIV/AIDS and LGBT
Communities |
The Supreme
Court has long been the final recourse of the oppressed and
disenfranchised and demonized. Arguably, it is the branch of
government most likely to respond not to the numbers of the
majority, but to the rights of the marginalized minority.
Today, when two out of three branches of the government are
dominated by a conservative agenda, it is even more critical
that the high court uphold the rights under attack by
Congress and the White House. |
|
|
Therapist’s Duty to Protect Third Parties-Balancing Public
Safety and Patient Confidentiality |
When a
therapist determines, or pursuant to the standards of the
profession should determine, that his patient presents a
serious danger of violence to another, he incurs an
obligation to use reasonable care to protect the intended
victim against such danger. The discharge of this duty many
require the therapist to take one or more of various steps,
depending upon the nature of the case. Thus it may call for
him to warn the intended victim or others likely to apprise
the victim of the danger, to notify the police, or to take
whatever other steps are reasonably necessary under the
circumstances. |
Pdf 26 kb |
|
TORT
LAW OUTLINE
|
Several
different examples of these cases
|
|
|
Two
Maine Inmates Plan to sue State to receive Hepatitis C Treatment in
Current Facility
|
Two prisoners at the Bolduc Correctional Facility in Maine are planning to file
a lawsuit against the state for not providing hepatitis C
treatment at the facility, the
Bangor
Daily News
reports.
|
|
|
U.S. Supreme Court Cuts Back Protections of the ADA |
On Wednesday,
February 21, the Supreme Court of the U.S. ruled that
individuals cannot recover money damages against States for
violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). |
|
|
USA vs. The American National Red Cross |
Court
Ruling and Actions concerning the US Courts and the American
Red Cross on how they supply blood products |
Pdf 429 kb |
|
Victims tell of tears, pain from hepatitis |
Too weak to
stand, Pamela Wallace asked if she could sit to address the
court. Once a faceless, nameless plaintiff in a class-action
lawsuit, Wallace chose Friday to identify herself, by name and
profession, by offering personal details and private longings,
and by detailing, once and for all, what she has lost |
|
** In order to view PDF files, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on
your computer. Many computers already have this software; however, if you need
it, a free copy is available for download at this site: Click
here to get Adobe Acrobat Reader.
