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Personal injury lawsuit for std transmission?
Question:
I was just diagnosed with herpes. When I confronted my fiance, he admitted that the he knew he had herpes, which he’d gotten from cheating on me a year ago, but he didn’t want to tell me because he was afraid I would leave him. I feel incredibly hurt and betrayed, and now I have this lifetime disease. What can I do? I live in NYC and that’s where we lived together, though he has recently moved to Texas.
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You could sue him. Your state (New York) has recognized that intentional STD transmission is a legitimate basis for a lawsuit. In a case like the one you describe, the lawsuit would be based in fraudulent misrepresentation or deceit—the intentional act of deceiving or lying about the sexually transmitted disease.
Since you live in New York and that’s where the transmission of the disease occurred, you can sue him in your own state. However, even if you had to sue him elsewhere, at this point, most states recognize a cause of action for the wrongful transmission of a sexually transmitted disease. Indeed, in some cases (especially involving HIV), it may even be criminal; for example, last year Texas imprisoned a man for up to 45 years for knowingly infecting women with HIV.
You should consult with a personal injury attorney, who can evaluate the strength of your case, what it might be worth, and what it would take to pursue it.
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