Doctor Settles AIDS Suit Against N.Y.; Terms Secret

A doctor who was suing the city, charging that she had contracted AIDS through the carelessness of another physician, accepted a settlement Thursday as attorneys were preparing to present their trial summations.

The judge would say only that the amount was “between zero and $100 million.”

Dr. Veronica Prego said she was happy that the trial had ended. “It’s been extremely difficult for me,” she said, adding that the strain of the two-month trial had caused her condition to worsen. “Now it’s time to take care of myself.”

Judge Aaron D. Bernstein ordered the lawyers on both sides not to disclose the amount of the settlement.

“It’s no one’s business, except the people who are paying it and the person who’s receiving it,” Bernstein said.

Under the agreement, none of the parties named in the lawsuit acknowledged any guilt.

Prego maintained in her $175-million lawsuit, which named the city Health and Hospitals Corp. and two physicians, that she had contracted the deadly acquired immune deficiency syndrome when a doctor who had drawn blood from an AIDS patient in 1983 left the contaminated needle and other debris on the patient’s bedding. Prego said she accidentally pricked her finger when cleaning up the waste.

Diane Wilner, a lawyer for the 32-year-old Prego, said the settlement was accepted because defense lawyers said they would appeal any jury award. An appeal would tie the matter up in the courts for two to three years.

“Dr. Prego must live the rest of her life with some peace and must be able to put this behind her,” Wilner said. “In essence, I believe they put a gun to our head with the appeal.”

Health and Hospitals Corp. lawyer Stanley D. Friedman said of the settlement: “We’re most pleased. I can’t tell you the numbers, but we’re most pleased.”