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Mentioning HIV in Doctor's First Report Form Illegal

April 5, 2005
Source: FindLaw, WorkInjury.com
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A primary care doctor treating his patient for anxiety and a rash on an industrial basis filed the "Doctor's First Report of Occupational Injury or Illness" stating that the employee was temporarily disabled for one month.

In this First Report, the doctor also checked the box indicating that other conditions were contributing to the alleged work injury and made a notation that the worker was "managing HIV disease."

This report got back to the employer who then fired the employee.

The employee sued the doctor for, among other things, professional negligence and violating the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, Civil Code section 56 et seq. (CMIA).

The First District Court of Appeal affirmed the lower trial court's ruling that said the confidentiality statute had been violated but re-calculated the damages.

To read the full case in MS Word format, please click here.

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