The Nation : Jury Awards AIDS Patient $3.9 Million

A Milwaukee jury found a blood center negligent for not screening blood donors and awarded $3.9 million to a man who said he contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion during heart surgery. “I’m going to spend the rest of my short life trying to help other people who are less fortunate than me and also help victims of AIDS, no matter how they caught it,” said John Carroll, 63, of suburban Brookfield, who testified that he might die within a year. Earlier this month, a jury in San Francisco found a blood bank negligent for improperly screening its blood in the case of a 5 1/2-year-old boy who contracted AIDS through a transfusion. The family was awarded $500,000 in compensatory damages but nothing for pain and suffering.