Dr. Doe decision is reversed

Connecticut’s Supreme Court has thrown out a $12.2 million award to a former hospital intern who was infected with HIV after an accidental needle prick. In dismissing the damage award, the court also ordered a new trial in the case. The intern, known in court papers as Dr. Doe, sued the University and Yale-New Haven Hospital and claimed that the incident was the result of inadequate training and supervision. She pricked herself in 1988 while inserting a line into a patient with AIDS.

The state Supreme Court ruled that the original trial judge erred in ruling out the University’s claim of immunity under workers’ compensation laws. The judge also failed to instruct the jury that its verdict must be based on expert testimony, the court ruled.