Man Who Gave Woman Genital Herpes Ordered to Pay Nearly One Million Dollars in Damages
A jury in Oregon last week awarded a 49-year-old dental hygienist $900,000 for the pain and suffering she's had to endure since contracting genital herpes following a hook up with a retired dentist she met online.
The jury took two hours to conclude that the 69-year-old from Portland was 75 percent at fault for not wearing a condom throughout their love-making session, which occurred on their fourth date.
According to the woman's lawyer, his client had requested that the man wear a condom and he agreed, but by the time she realized he wasn't wearing one "it was too late." Later, still in bed, he revealed to her that he had genital herpes, and she kicked him out.
The man claimed in court that he had no idea his herpes were perpetually contagious, even when no outbreak was visible.
Defense attorney Shawn Lillegren sought to turn it around, saying the woman should have known better than to let the man proceed without a condom and insisting that she was "not some little innocent victim," but the jury sided with the unidentified plaintiff and, after just two hours of deliberations, gave her almost the entire amount she was seeking.
"We all felt he should have told her-he had a responsibility to tell her," juror Noah Brimhall is quoted as saying.
The jury further found the man guilty of committing battery "by intentionally engaging in an activity that harmed the woman," but the Washington County district attorney has already turned the case down, saying there was not enough evidence to convict "beyond a reasonable doubt."