HIV Misdiagnosis Spurs D.C. Court of Appeals to Reconsider Emotional Damages Rule

The D.C. Court of Appeals has granted an en banc hearing in the case of a man who is seeking the right to sue for emotional damages after he was misdiagnosed with HIV. The plaintiff, who spent five years believing he had HIV after he was falsely diagnosed, said he suffered severe depression. The case could give the court a chance to rethink a longstanding precedent in medical malpractice cases, which holds that courts can only grant damages for emotional distress if the plaintiff had been in a "zone of physical danger."