Skip to main content

Married Woman Has Affair in Pickup, Gets Herpes, Sues for $350K

By Stephanie Rabiner, Esq. on August 16, 2011 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

An unnamed 33-year-old woman from Delavan, Wisconsin has filed a herpes lawsuit against her former Edgerton lover, alleging that he exposed her to the sexually transmitted disease and failed to disclose the fact prior to their tryst.

Which happened in the back of his pickup truck.

While they were both married.

Unable to recover from the embarrassment, will the woman be able to recover the $350,000 she has asked for?

Suing for intentional infection, emotional distress, assault and battery, the Janesville Gazette reports that the infected pair met in 2009, carrying on an online and in-person flirtation for nearly two years.

In January 2010, they liaised in the man's pickup truck, at which time there was no discussion of herpes.

After showing signs of the disease, the Gazette reports that the woman's husband discussed the issue with the defendant.

The defendant allegedly told the husband that he has never taken medication to treat his herpes.

While transmitting herpes in this manner isn't ordinarily grounds for legal action, an increasing number of courts have allowed such herpes lawsuits to proceed on the theories of negligence and battery.

Arguably, a sexual partner must disclose known diseases for two reasons.

First, negligence law may impart a duty of care to one's sexual partner. And second, failing to inform effectively negates the other partner's ability to give informed consent to sexual activity.

Now that it's been established that the woman's claims aren't completely frivolous, let's focus on something more amusing.

Perhaps the best part of the woman's herpes lawsuit is that she has decided to seek recovery from the man's car insurance, as she was technically injured in his pickup truck.

Related Resources:

Copied to clipboard