Woman sues hospital for HIV misdiagnosis
By Ma Lie (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-09-09 02:14

A local woman has taken legal action against a hospital in Xi'an, the capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, claiming that it misdiagnosed her as an HIV carrier.

She filed the complaint on Tuesday at the Xi'an Xincheng District court.

Li Qing, a pregnant 32-year-old, is claiming 10,000 yuan (US$1,200) in damages from the hospital for emotional distress, "because the erroneous diagnosis made me and my family suffer from extreme panic."

Li said in her complaint that her family was also greatly harmed by the mistake.

Li went to Xi'an Huashan Central Hospital in June for tests, which alleged that she was HIV positive.

"After inquiry, I learned that the result the hospital gave me meant that I was infected with HIV, and I was suspected by my husband, my father-in-law and mother-in-law," Li said.

She almost lost hopes due to the erroneous diagnosis, and her relatives and friends tried to avoid her, Li said.

"A few days later, I decided to prove my own innocence and I went for further tests at the No 2 Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University on June 15 and Shaanxi Provincial AIDS Monitoring Centre on June 23," Li said.

The results of both of those tests contradicted the one taken at Xi'an Huashan Central Hospital.

Li Qing said the hospital's staff were "extremely irresponsible."

Li also claimed that the medical error had harmed her unborn child.

Li's attorney, Sun Kangming, sent a letter to Xi'an Huashan Central Hospital last month, asking for a meeting to resolve the dispute.

The letter gave the hospital three days to respond, otherwise legal action would be taken.

However, the Xi'an Huashan Central Hospital did not answer the lawyer's letter and took no measures to resolve the dispute, causing Li to take legal action against the hospital, Sun said.

The court has decided that the case will be heard at a later date.

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