Herpes Lawsuit Against a Former Partner

[CJC6011]

Hi Terri-

You arranged the Western Blot test for me in 2020. The results came back positive for HSV-2. My question is not really clinical.

I am a 60 year old, widowed male living in the Northeast. I am a plaintiff in a lawsuit against my former female partner (age 60), who gave me HSV-2 in 2019. She did not disclose she had been diagnosed positive, and had been prescribed Valcyclovir, six months prior to meeting me. She only told me after she infected me.

So far, we have had legal discovery and depositions where my lawyer clearly demonstrated she was the cause of my infection. I also have a leading area infectious disease physician who look at all the lab evidence, and is willing to testify as an expert witness, at trial, upon my behalf.

We have a trial date scheduled for 2/13/23. Because of the mountain of evidence against my former partner, her attorney wants to negotiate a settlement rather than going to trial. My initial demand filed with the lawsuit was $160,000. I have lowered my demand to $99,000. They have countered with only $20,000.

My lawyer thinks that this can settle for around $50,000. I already have $20,000 in legal costs. My lawyer says if it goes to trial, it will probably cost another $20,000 for a total cost of $40,000. He says that knowing what a jury might award (if I prevail) is highly speculative. I would like to settle for a bottom line number of $60,000. Based on your experience and knowledge, is my monetary demand reasonable? She is not wealthy, but has a more than modest net worth.

So, should I try to settle this now, and if so, what amount do you feel is compensatory? Or rather, should I go to trial, and take a chance on what the jury may award.

This whole episode has really affected me and I’d like to settle rather than going to court. But, part of me wants to go to trial so I can articulate how dishonest and careless my former partner was with regard to my health and emotional well being.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[Terri Warren]

Your case is quite usual. Happens all the time. I’ve been the herpes expert in several trials, and some key findings are important. Did you have a negative IgG test when first infected and a positive herpes swab test? If yes, that is absolutely key to proving that you didn’t have this before. I hope the ID doc is a herpes expert.

In the cases I’ve been involved in within the past few years, the settlements have ranged from 990,000.00 to 2.3 million. I think your estimate of success, IF you have the IgG evidence I suggest that you need AND a herpes expert testifying on your behalf. Both are really quite important. If both are true, I think you will get a much larger settlement. You also need documentation of any counseling that you’ve required and information about how this has impacted your life – medically, socially, and psychologically.

What is the plantiff’s defense?

Terri

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