R.J. AND P.J., APPELLANTS,
v.
HUMANA OF FLORIDA, INC., D/B/A HUMANA HOSPITAL-LUCERNE, A FLORIDA CORPORATION, ET AL., APPELLEES
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R.J. and P.J. appeal the dismissal of their negligence action against a hospital, laboratory, and physician for incorrectly diagnosing R.J. as HIV positive. The court affirms the dismissal under Florida's impact rule but certifies a question to the Florida Supreme Court regarding whether the impact rule should apply to negligent HIV diagnosis cases.
The court affirms the dismissal under the impact rule but acknowledges that the impact rule should not apply to negligent HIV diagnosis cases and certifies the question to the Florida Supreme Court for determination.
[1] Recovery for injuries caused by negligence is generally barred in the absence of a physical impact to the claimant.
[2] The impact rule may be relaxed by courts on a case-by-case basis.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Under the "impact" doctrine, no recovery is allowed for injuries caused by a defendant's negligence in the absence of a physical impact to the claimant.”
Establishes the traditional impact rule that bars recovery without physical contact or impact.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceHumana took a blood sample from R.J. on March 19, 1989, and sent it to Smithkline Beecham for testing. On March 30, 1989, Humana informed R.J. that he…
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W. SHARP, Judge.
R.J. and his wife P.J. appeal from a dismissal of their complaint filed against Huma-na of Florida, Inc., Smithkline Beecham Clinical Laboratories, Inc. and Dr. William Robbins. The appellants filed this negligence action after R.J. was incorrectly diagnosed and treated for being HIV positive. The action was dismissed because the appellants failed to satisfy the “impact rule.” We reluctantly affirm but certify a question to the Florida Supreme Court regarding the applicability of the impact rule to this case.
According to the complaint, Humana took a blood sample from R.J. on March 19, 1989, and forwarded the sample to Smithkline Beecham Laboratories, Inc. for testing. On March 30, 1989, Humana informed R.J. that the results of the blood test indicated that he was infected with the HIV virus. Humana referred R.J. to Dr. William Robbins for medical care and treatment. R.J. was not retested until he requested it in November, 1990. This test revealed that R.J. was not infected with the HIV virus.
The appellants filed suit against Humana, Smithkline and Dr. Robbins for negligent testing, diagnosis and medical treatment. R.J. alleged that as a result of the defendants’ negligence, he was led to incorrectly believe that he was infected with the HIV virus “causing him to suffer bodily injury including hypertension, pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life and-the reasonable expense of medical care and attention.” The appellants’ second amended complaint was dismissed with prejudice on the basis that it failed to meet the “impact rule.”
Under the “impact” doctrine, no recovery is allowed for injuries caused by a defendant’s negligence in the absence of a physical impact to the claimant. Gilliam v. Stewart, 291 So. 2d 593 (Fla.1974). The Florida Supreme Court has relaxed the requirement of an impact on a ease-by-case basis. Champion v. Gray, 478 So. 2d 17 (Fla.1985); Brown v. Cadillac Motor Car Division, 468 So. 2d 903 (Fla.1985). More recently, the Florida Supreme Court held that the impact doctrine does not apply to a wrongful birth claim. Kush v. Lloyd, 616 So. 2d 415 (Fla. 1992).
Although we believe that the impact rule should not apply to a ease of a negligent HIV diagnosis,1 we acknowledge that this ease does not squarely fall within the recognized exceptions to the impact rule and thus we are constrained to affirm the dismissal of the appellants’ complaint. Hoffman v. Jones, 280 So. 2d 431 (Fla.1973). However, pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.030(a)(2)(A)(v), we certify the following question to the Florida Supreme Court as being one of great public importance:
DOES THE IMPACT RULE APPLY TO A CLAIM FOR DAMAGES FROM A NEGLIGENT HIV DIAGNOSIS?
AFFIRM; QUESTION CERTIFIED.
GOSHORN and PETERSON, JJ., concur. . If the purpose of the impact rule is to avoid fraudulent and purely subjective or speculative claims, there seems to be little likelihood of this in a case where someone is mistakenly told that they are infected with the HIV virus. A person seeking an AIDS test will most likely have a reason for believing that he or she has been exposed to the virus, the tests are generally accurate and will most likely be believed and the news that one is HIV positive will almost certainly cause severe emotional anguish. In addition, a person who is misdiagnosed and told that he is HIV positive will most likely suffer from unnecessary medical treatment with unpleasant and perhaps damaging side effects.
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R.J. and P.J. v. Humana OF Fla., Inc., 652 So. 2d 360 (Fla. 1995)…OVERTON, Justice. This is a petition to review R.J. v. Humana, Inc., 625 So. 2d 116 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993), [*362] in which the district court affirmed the trial court’s holding that there was no physical impact sufficient to maintain a negligence action for an erroneous test showing that R.J. was HIV positive. In so holding, the dist…
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Russo v. Sera-Tec Biologicals, Inc., 657 So. 2d 1159 (Fla. 1995)…PER CURIAM. We review Russo v. Sera-Tec Biologicals, Inc., 650 So. 2d 1000 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994), in which the court affirmed on the basis of R.J. v. Humana of Florida, Inc., 625 So. 2d 116 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993). We accepted jurisdiction because the Humana case was pending before this Court. Art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const. See Jollie v. State, 405 So. 2d 418 (Fla.1981). We have now decided the Humana case. R.J. v. Humana of Florida, Inc.,…
Authorities Cited
- Hoffman v. Jones, 280 So. 2d 431 (Fla. 1973)
- Arthur W. Kush, M.D. v. Lloyd, 616 So. 2d 415 (Fla. 1992)
- Gilliam v. Stewart, 291 So. 2d 593 (Fla. 1974)
- Walton D. Champion v. Gray, 478 So. 2d 17 (Fla. 1985)
- Brown v. Cadillac Motor CAR Division, 468 So. 2d 903 (Fla. 1985)