HIV-Positive Man Sues Doctor, Says Surgery Canceled
Milwaukee
Journal-Sentinel
Derrick Nunnally
OCTOBER 15, 2004
A lawsuit filed Tuesday by an HIV-positive man in Milwaukee County Circuit Court claims his former doctor canceled scheduled back surgery in 2002 after learning the patient was HIV-positive. It is a violation of Wisconsin law to refuse treatment because a patient has HIV. The suit was filed by attorneys from Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, the AIDS Resource Center and the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee.
Stephen D. Spera said he started going to James Cain of Orthopedic Associates of Milwaukee in 2000 for severe back pain. Spera received regular injections for the pain for six months in 2002 before Cain suggested spinal fusion surgery, which was scheduled for that November, the suit states.
A week before surgery, a pre-operation test found that Spera was HIV-positive, and when Cain learned the results the surgery was canceled, the suit alleges. Further, the suit said that Cain refused to reschedule surgery even after a Froedtert and Medical College nurse called him a month later to say Spera was cleared for surgery.
Spera's suit asks for a court order barring Orthopedic Associates and Cain from denying treatment to HIV patients in the future and for unspecified punitive damages. Jon Givner, a Lambda attorney, said a complaint filed with the US Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights already prompted Cain to adopt an HIV nondiscrimination policy and attend training programs.