Jamie Reidy shares the story of an Oregon man who infected his date with herpes and had to pay her nearly $1M.
The Huffington Post reports that the woman filed a lawsuit after contracting herpes:
The plaintiff, a 49-year-old woman from Beaverton, met the defendant, a 69-year-old retired dentist, on an Internet dating website in 2010. The two went on three dates together and on the forth they had sex. Roughly 11 days later, the plaintiff had a herpes outbreak, it was revealed in court.
Sex on date four? I like how the ladies in Oregon do things!
I do not, however, like how this man from Oregon did things:
During testimony in the case, the woman said she had asked the defendant to wear a condom. She said he agreed but removed it, without her knowledge, before the act was finished. Afterward, he allegedly told her he had herpes.
If a guy knows he has herpes, he needs to a) tell his prospective partners up front, and b) wear a condom until he’s ready to tinkle post-coitus.
How much do you think the jury should have awarded the herpes victim?
Photo by: bradleygee
This being anonymous and all, I’m going to come out and say that I have herpes. It’s been a fun journey, and I’ve learned a lot of facts about it that I’d like to share. Around 17% of people 14-49 in America have herpes, according to this. http://www.cdc.gov/std/herpes/stdfact-herpes.htm When I went to Kaiser for treatment, they told me that the percentage was around 25%. It is hard to quantify because most people who are infected don’t know it. Many people never have symptoms, and there are a lot of people who may have mild symptoms but don’t realize that they’re… Read more »
I’m really stunned by how cavalier the previous commenter is. What he did has the same moral status as slipping a few cc’s of virus serum into someone’s drink. It is hard to put a monetary value on such a thing, and the reason is that it is deliberate injury and therefore would suggest that criminal prosecution as well as payment of damages is appropriate. She assumed the risk of protected sex, but was unwittingly exposed to a much higher risk. By Mr. Draper’s logic, if you do anything risky, others may endanger you with impunity. OK, not complete impunity–$100K’s… Read more »
I am also shocked. She did take a calculated risk: to protected sex. If herpes was still the result, it could be chalked up to bad luck, rather than intent. And I wonder, even with casual sex, why people don’t clarify their health or fertility status. So simple to say, I’m on the pill but insist on condoms, or I have X std but it’s in remission and I wear protection etc. Of course then the risk is the partner will balk. In this case, the man apparently removed a condom (deliberately?) and THEN told her of the repercussions of… Read more »
I’m with Jamie and the ladies here. It’s almost some sort of biological warfare. Well, not “warfare” but definitely like an assault with a biological weapon. I mean, right?! She consent to condoms! And fourth date sex isn’t necessarily casual sex! Is this a form of rape? I feel like there is SO MUCH to this that I’m not getting. I’m all worked up over this. And yeah, it’s treatable if you want to take Valtrex every single day the rest of your life. Otherwise you get blisters on your vulva! On your VULVA!. Once I had an ingrown hair… Read more »
Considering that approximately 21% of women have herpes, the odds are that any man out there in the dating world is going to have to make that decision, Don: yea or nay.
Fortunately, pharmaceuticals can reduce the symptoms most of the time, making it far more easy for a partner to deal with, I think.
Certainly not a deal breaker.
He deceived her (according to your version of the facts). That’s worth “something.” However, fourth date sex is, IMHO, “casual sex” and casual sex does not come without risk. Sex is something that should be TOTALLY discussed PRIOR to the event…probably didn’t happen here. That said, while incurable, hepes is not life threatening. I know some people with it and who take meds to control it. I have heard one use the term that it is more of an “annoyance” than anything. There’s also a bit of a “shame” factor. In my view, considering all, not worth anything like 9… Read more »
Sorry…I misread… ONE million. I still hold to my prior comments. She assumed the risk. In today’s market, I would award her $100,000.00 That assumes her attorney is going to get 40-50, Uncle Sam gets 30. Leaving her with about 25, clear. That’s a new car, house downpayment, or international trip. That’s where I think it lands, value-wise.