For years, the incidence of HIV and AIDS has been on the decline. However, although that trend still holds true for most of the population, infection rates among African-American females age 13 to 18 show a disturbing change in this trend. This sub-category accounts for 25 percent of new HIV cases. More generally, 40 percent of all new cases are African American females. Dallas health experts have begun to raise the alarm, hoping to draw attention to this unsettling reality.
You may not realize it, but tort law has a role to play in the public health battle against sexually transmitted diseases. STD-infected citizens have an obligation to refrain from having sex with their partner if they haven’t disclosed their illness. In the eyes of the law, agreeing to sexual intercourse is very different from agreeing to accept the risk of infection. In many jurisdictions, a STD-infected sexual partner who fails to disclose his or her condition commits a battery when he or she has sex with an uninformed partner.
Has someone infected you with an STD or HIV? If they knew about their medical condition and failed to tell you, you may have a viable legal claim against them. To find out more about your legal rights, talk to the litigation and personal injury experts at Fears | Nachawati. For your free consultation, call us at 1.866.322.6898 or email us at http://www.fnlawfirm.com/contact.cfm. We’re ready to help you.
