A neurologist issued a referral to Oleksandra’s husband (name changed for security reasons) and indicated his wife’s HIV status in it without her consent. Later, the husband changed the place of residence of their children, did not allow the woman to communicate with them, showed the doctor’s referral with the diagnosis in the presence of police officers, and even forbade the client to hug and kiss the children.
Oleksandra turned to REAct documentator Ludmila Kolomoets for help, who referred the client to the NGO “Positive Women”.
Later, the lawyers of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union in Dnipro, which works on the basis of the Human Rights Group “SICH”, helped the woman to find justice. They sent a lawsuit to the court against the doctor and the medical institution. However, the claim was rejected, as well as the appeal. The next steps are a cassation appeal and an appeal of decisions in the Supreme Court.
Taking into account the fact that the doctor had no reason to violate the ban on disclosure of information without the patient’s personal consent, the Supreme Court found the neurologist’s actions illegal and ordered the medical institution to pay Oleksandra the appropriate amount for moral damages and legal costs.
Moreover, as far as is currently known, the doctor was dismissed from the medical institution.
For detailed information about the consequences of the doctor’s negligence, how the trial was conducted, and what the first and appellate courts made a mistake, read the link.