Boy, 5, Gets $28.7-Million Award in AIDS Case, Possibly a Record
A 5-year-old boy who contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion when he was 2 days old has been awarded $28.7 million, believed to be the largest damage award in AIDS litigation in the United States.
A Maricopa County Superior Court jury on Friday awarded the damages to Alex Edwards of Mesa. The damages were assessed against Dr. Abraham Kuruvilla and his clinic, Neonatology Associates Ltd.
Kuruvilla’s attorney, Duane Olson, called the verdict “worse than I ever could have dreamed” and said he would appeal.
A suit filed on behalf of the boy claimed that Kuruvilla should have obtained consent from the parents before ordering the transfusion and should have pursued alternative treatments for the baby’s respiratory problems.
The jury awarded $26.7 million to Alex and $1 million each to his parents, Roy and Pat Edwards, for the loss of the boy’s companionship and the emotional distress of having a child suffering from AIDS.
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