A woman who was given a wrong HIV diagnosis started legal action for damages in the High Court yesterday.
She broke down in tears while telling the court how she felt when told she had tested HIV positive. That was a mistake resulting from her blood sample being mixed up with that of another person, the court heard.
“I was devastated. I thought I was going to die, that I had no future,” said Michelle Kenny, who has sued St James’s Hospital in Dublin for nervous shock over the samples mix-up in October 2010.
She told the court she accepted it was “an honest mistake” and a doctor “helped me every way she could”.
Ms Kenny, from Crumlin, Dublin, a clerical officer at St James’s, had two more blood tests at the hospital, which were negative, and another negative test through her GP.
She says she knows she is not HIV positive but claims she does not socialise any more and only feels safe at home.
St James’s Hospital has admitted liability and that it did mix up two blood samples but argues Ms Kenny did not suffer loss or damage.
The case continues.