Chiropractor Agrees to Pay AIDS Patient $5,000 in Bias Case

A Hillcrest chiropractor has agreed to pay an AIDS patient $5,000 and is prevented from discriminating against others with AIDS in the first lawsuit stemming from a city ordinance that prohibits discrimination against people afflicted with the deadly disease.

Dr. Joseph Cicmanec agreed to the out-of-court settlement on June 22, the same day that Superior Court Judge Kevin Midlam signed a permanent injunction that bars Cicmanec from refusing to treat a patient simply because he or she has AIDS. Cicmanec was sued by AIDS patient Robert E. Walsh Jr. in January, citing an anti-discrimination ordinance passed by the San Diego City Council in February, 1988.

According to Walsh’s lawsuit, he was “shamed, humiliated, degraded and emotionally upset” on Aug. 4, 1988, when Cicmanec and his staff refused to treat him upon learning that he had AIDS. Walsh had made an appointment with Cicmanec’s office earlier in the day for a back realignment.

Request of Referral Allowed

Although there was no admission of wrongdoing on Cicmanec’s part, the injunction prohibits him from “imposing or permitting any other hindrances which deter a person with (AIDS) from receiving” chiropractic care from Cicmanec. However, the court order does allow Cicmanec to request an oral or written referral from an AIDS patient’s doctor before treating him.

The injunction also permits Cicmanec to use his professional judgment, as with all patients, in deciding whether chiropractic treatment may be unnecessary or inappropriate for an AIDS patient’s health.

Attorneys for both sides said that terms of the agreement prevented them from discussing the settlement. Attorney Timothy R. Pestotnik represented Walsh free of charge. When Walsh’s lawsuit was filed, Pestotnik said that his father had died of AIDS three years earlier.

Previous Cases Resolved

Previous complaints of discrimination by people with AIDS had been taken to a free legal advice clinic sponsored in part by the San Diego AIDS Project. Before Walsh filed his lawsuit, all of the cases had been resolved without a lawsuit, Pestotnik said.

James F. Stiven, who represented Cicmanec, said that both sides agreed “not to interpret” the injunction. But Stiven did acknowledge that the document specifically prohibits Cicmanec from refusing to treat patients solely because they have AIDS.

Measures barring discrimination against AIDS patients have been passed by several cities and counties throughout California in the past year. Several lawsuits have been filed in the past five years by AIDS patients and their families against medical professionals and businesses for alleged discrimination in other cities.