This verdict is a reflection of my clients honesty, integrity and truthfulness on the stand while CMC's nurse tried to "pull one over" on the jury and we caught her.  My client was a physician in the Philippines and came to the US with his wife and 7 y.o. son in 1995.  He and his wife (a medical technologist) took jobs as phlebotomists with NHML (a subsidiary of Optima at the time) in 1997 while he tried to get into a US residency program as a foreign medical graduate.  He was awarded the Optima Pride award in 1998 and earned exemplary job performance reviews as recent as October 1999.  In April 2000 he was deliberately stuck by a patient with a dirty needle while attempting to draw blood.  The patient was identified as HIV and Hep C positive.  Following the stabbing incident he was devastated emotionally.  He was treated with powerful HIV prophylactic drugs and followed for 30 days on oral medications.  He suffered many side effects and became moody on the job although he never missed a days work.  I sued NHML and CMC on April 7, 2000 in a discovery action to preserve the blood of the patient and took depositions in May, June and July.  On August 30, 2000 he was given a Notice of First and Final Warning in connection with an incident that occurred where he called a co-worker an "idiot".  The incident was that the co-worker took a "stat" lab specimen and placed in the "to be done when you get around to it" bin.  My client intercepted the error and called her "an idiot".  NHML (CMC's exclusive provider of lab services under Optima) issued the First and Final Warning without a verbal warning.  In closing I argued that English is a second language to my client and he intercepted an error that could have been serious.  Just 4 months earlier he had been evaluated as Substantially Exceeding All Employment Criteria and he had just been stuck with a needle by a patient with HIV and Hep C.  He had been told by his infectious disease doctor to consider himself HIV positive for "the time being" and practice safe sex and do not let your son use your toothbrush.  You would think that management would take him aside and FIRST thank him for intercepting the error and then verbally caution him not to use the term "idiot" as it is offensive in the US.  Instead of compassionately helping him, they threatened him at a time when he was "down and out" and scared for himself and  his wife and son.  He admitted the "idiot" statement but refused to sign the First and Final Warning letter.  It was clear that CMC was not happy with the fact that he had hired a lawyer and taken depositions in connection with the stabbing incident.

The good news is that he never developed the diseases and medical specials were only $2000.  After 6 months of negative testing he was considered over 95% likely NOT to convert the disease from this incident and after 12 months that went to almost 100%.  What won the jury was my client's impeccable honesty and CMC's inconsiderate treatment of him after the incident.