Man Who Gives Woman Herpes Hit with a 900000

An Oregon woman won a $900,000 jury verdict against a retired dentist who gave her a surprise case of herpes on their fourth date—the latest of a few large damage awards. The jury in Portland deliberated only two hours before finding that the woman was only 25% responsible for contracting the sexually transmitted disease that subsequently made her life a misery—while the man who neglected to tell her until after they’d had sex would have to compensate her for her pain and suffering. Neither the woman nor her date has been publicly identified, to protect what’s left of their privacy.

The case hinged on allegations of battery—the man’s aggressive consummation of the date before the woman could make sure he was wearing a condom—and negligence because of his failure to mention that he had herpes until it was too late. The case was made easier to prove because the woman had received a clean bill of health, indicating she had not developed antibodies to herpes, shortly before the date in question. The two met on eHarmony, an online dating site, and decided to have sex on their fourth date. The woman asked the man to use a condom, and offered him one from her bed stand. “The next thing she knew, he was on top of her,” and not wearing the condom, her lawyer said.
 Very shortly afterward, he said, the man told her he had herpes, though he was not suffering lesions at the time. The woman came down with herpes within 11 days, and suffered not only painful outbreaks, but anxiety and depression.

The case was one of several that have awarded damages or resulted in settlements as a result of herpes infection. Possibly the largest was in California, where a state appeals court in 2011 upheld a $4.3-million award to a Riverside County woman who contracted herpes from a former boyfriend.