Tested for hiv without neither verbal nor written consent

[JustJustice]

What is the name of your state? California

In September of 2018 I went in to get some tests done because I had some edema in my foot. When I went back to get the results I was told I was hiv positive. I told the practitioner that I never consented to this test and he said that I signed the lab papers which I never did and I asked for a copy from the lab and sure enough I never signed for this test in accordance with the California statute. Immediately afterward the shock of being told I was hiv positive I was put on an ecg and was casually told that I had congestive heart failure and that I had to wait 2 months to see a cardiologist. During that time I was obviously very depressed, didn’t sleep at all and the stress made me very sick. It took me almost a year to barely function from these traumas. When I finally saw the cardiologist she ran some tests and that diagnosis also turned out to be false and that nothing was wrong with my heart. The practitioner never changed the heart failure diagnosis till I demanded it. I also demanded in writing for the hiv test to be deleted from my record 2 months ago. I’ve called numerous times to see if the deleted it and they kept giving me the run around and intentionally never returned any of my phone calls. It seems to me that they collaborated with the director of the clinic to not return my calls. It is known that there over 70 conditions which register a false hiv positive result and Epstein Barr virus which I’ve had since birth is one of them. In any case, since I never consented or signed for this test how can I delete it from my record and what recourse do I have?

 

[Dandy Don]

Do you have a regular physician that you could ask how you can get a copy of your medical records to see if the false HIV positive test is on there or not? Who was the practitioner you went to--a physician or a clinic or a place that only does medical tests (don't mention the name of the practitioner, please--just state the type of practitioner it was).

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? California

In September of 2018 I went in to get some tests done because I had some edema in my foot. When I went back to get the results I was told I was hiv positive. I told the practitioner that I never consented to this test and he said that I signed the lab papers which I never did and I asked for a copy from the lab and sure enough I never signed for this test in accordance with the California statute. Immediately afterward the shock of being told I was hiv positive I was put on an ecg and was casually told that I had congestive heart failure and that I had to wait 2 months to see a cardiologist. During that time I was obviously very depressed, didn’t sleep at all and the stress made me very sick. It took me almost a year to barely function from these traumas. When I finally saw the cardiologist she ran some tests and that diagnosis also turned out to be false and that nothing was wrong with my heart. The practitioner never changed the heart failure diagnosis till I demanded it. I also demanded in writing for the hiv test to be deleted from my record 2 months ago. I’ve called numerous times to see if the deleted it and they kept giving me the run around and intentionally never returned any of my phone calls. It seems to me that they collaborated with the director of the clinic to not return my calls. It is known that there over 70 conditions which register a false hiv positive result and Epstein Barr virus which I’ve had since birth is one of them. In any case, since I never consented or signed for this test how can I delete it from my record and what recourse do I have?

You are entitled to a copy of your medical records. I suggest you request these records first, and read over all that you signed and all that was noted.

"Informed consent" is required for HIV testing. Information on the testing must be provided a patient prior to the test and, although consent can be granted by a patient in either writing or orally, this consent (and the type of consent - oral or written) must be noted in the patient's records.

Here is a link to HIV laws in California:
http://www.californiaaidsresearch.org/topic-areas/hiv-laws_final.pdf
There are privacy laws that protect your medical records from disclosure to others. A deletion of what testing has been done and what the test results showed is a less likely outcome when challenging medical record information than corrections or notations added to the records.

 

[Just Blue]

What is the name of your state? California

In September of 2018 I went in to get some tests done because I had some edema in my foot. When I went back to get the results I was told I was hiv positive. I told the practitioner that I never consented to this test and he said that I signed the lab papers which I never did and I asked for a copy from the lab and sure enough I never signed for this test in accordance with the California statute. Immediately afterward the shock of being told I was hiv positive I was put on an ecg and was casually told that I had congestive heart failure and that I had to wait 2 months to see a cardiologist. During that time I was obviously very depressed, didn’t sleep at all and the stress made me very sick. It took me almost a year to barely function from these traumas. When I finally saw the cardiologist she ran some tests and that diagnosis also turned out to be false and that nothing was wrong with my heart. The practitioner never changed the heart failure diagnosis till I demanded it. I also demanded in writing for the hiv test to be deleted from my record 2 months ago. I’ve called numerous times to see if the deleted it and they kept giving me the run around and intentionally never returned any of my phone calls. It seems to me that they collaborated with the director of the clinic to not return my calls. It is known that there over 70 conditions which register a false hiv positive result and Epstein Barr virus which I’ve had since birth is one of them. In any case, since I never consented or signed for this test how can I delete it from my record and what recourse do I have?

Could you please clarify this for me...are you HIV positive?

 

[JustJustice]

Do you have a regular physician that you could ask how you can get a copy of your medical records to see if the false HIV positive test is on there or not? Who was the practitioner you went to--a physician or a clinic or a place that only does medical tests (don't mention the name of the practitioner, please--just state the type of practitioner it was).

This is a clinic with 2 practitioners. I also wanted to add that They might be giving me the runaround because the knew that if a year has passed since the incident that I won’t be able to sue them. Is that true regarding the year window?

 

[JustJustice]

You are entitled to a copy of your medical records. I suggest you request these records first, and read over all that you signed and all that was noted.

"Informed consent" is required for HIV testing. Information on the testing must be provided a patient prior to the test and, although consent can be granted by a patient in either writing or orally, this consent (and the type of consent - oral or written) must be noted in the patient's records.

Here is a link to HIV laws in California:
http://www.californiaaidsresearch.org/topic-areas/hiv-laws_final.pdf
There are privacy laws that protect your medical records from disclosure to others. A deletion of what testing has been done and what the test results showed is a less likely outcome when challenging medical record information than corrections or notations added to the records.

Thanks for your reply and for the link! I’m currently overseas till December so I won’t be able to request a copy of my medical record till then. I only requested a copy of the lab work and what I signed for and hiv wasn’t on there. I was given the copy by the nurse after they dragged for 2 weeks. She had the look of guilt in her eyes and she asked me if there’s anything she could do to help. They knew they broke the law. I certainly hope they didn’t fabricate or add anything to my record to cover themselves from breaking the law. Is it true that I only have a year to sue them? I read that somewhere concerning a case like mine but not sure if it was in California. Concerning protection of my privacy, the entire clinic now is aware of this and that to me is a major violation.

 

[quincy]

Thanks for your reply and for the link! I’m currently overseas till December so I won’t be able to request a copy of my medical record till then. I only requested a copy of the lab work and what I signed for and hiv wasn’t on there. I was given the copy by the nurse after they dragged for 2 weeks. She had the look of guilt in her eyes and she asked me if there’s anything she could do to help. They knew they broke the law. I certainly hope they didn’t fabricate or add anything to my record to cover themselves from breaking the law. Is it true that I only have a year to sue them? I read that somewhere concerning a case like mine but not sure if it was in California. Concerning protection of my privacy, the entire clinic now is aware of this and that to me is a major violation.

For medical-malpractice claims in California, there is a one-year statute of limitations. You must file a claim within one year of the date of injury or from the time of reasonable discovery of the injury.

You could explore with an attorney in your area a privacy rights violation, however. There is a new privacy law going into effect in January 2020 that potentially could be used to support a legal action - but all of the facts should be personally reviewed by an attorney in California to see what is possible and whether there is a legal action worth the costs of pursuing.

 

[FlyingRon]

I'm not sure what relief you are seeking, even notwithstanding the passage of time. Conducting an HIV test when such wasn't authorized isn't likely to be construed actionable as much. Nor is the fact that it resulted in a false positive (if that is the case).

If Q is referring to the recently enacted CCPA, it almost certainly doesn't apply here because of the entity size constraints. It's specifically targetted at larger companies (gross revenue over $25MM, those with 50,000 or more users, or those who earn a substantial amount selling personal information).

 

[quincy]

A complaint potentially can be filed against the clinic with the medical board. Invasion of privacy could be a legal area to explore depending on how medical information was shared (and to whom it was shared).

Here is a link to the privacy Act:

https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/ccpa
I don't know if these are worth exploring or not. If no harm has resulted, I suspect the costs will outweigh any possible benefit.

 

[FlyingRon]

I don't know if these are worth exploring or not. If no harm has resulted, I suspect the costs will outweigh any possible benefit.

Again, did you read the act? No way it is going to apply to a two-man clinic as described. "Business" under the act is defined as I mentioned above.

 

[quincy]

Again, did you read the act? No way it is going to apply to a two-man clinic as described. "Business" under the act is defined as I mentioned above.

I provided a link to the Act because we both mentioned the Act.

Whether there is an invasion of privacy action available to pursue depends on the facts. The statute of limitations for invasion of privacy actions can depend on the time of discovery of any disclosure of private facts.

 

[FlyingRon]

Good now read it and tell me how it can possibly apply here? There's no point in throwing in references to laws that don't apply. You might as well told them to check the Paul Buzzo Act.

 

[quincy]

Here is a link to the Paul Buzzo Act:
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=2311.

 

[Just Blue]

https://www.mercurynews.com/2010/10/14/roadshow-the-story-behind-the-paul-buzzo-act-2/

 

[quincy]

https://www.mercurynews.com/2010/10/14/roadshow-the-story-behind-the-paul-buzzo-act-2/

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