Jury Rejects Man’s Claim That He Contracted HIV at Dentist’s

A jury Friday rejected the claim of a man who said he contracted the AIDS virus at his dentist’s office while having teeth pulled.

The patient, James Sharpe, burst out in anger afterward in comments to reporters.

“I put our whole family name, everybody on the line,” he said. “We thought we were doing something just and good, and the public cut our throat.”

The 14-member Hampshire Superior Court jury did find that the dentist, Anthony E. Breglio, was negligent in how he maintained his dental tools.

But the jurors decided that this negligence did not cause the ailment in Sharpe, 49. It awarded no damages.

Sharpe contended that Judge William Welch was biased and vowed to appeal.

Breglio took the verdict calmly, saying only that he was happy. Asked if the verdict restored his reputation, he said: “Ask me in a year, then I’ll know more.”

He said he intended to resume his dental practice, which he suspended during the two-week trial.

Sharpe says he contracted HIV in 1989, when he was having several teeth extracted at Breglio’s office. He did not assert that the dentist was infected, saying the virus was passed from another unknown patient through an improperly sterilized instrument for a drill.

The lawyer for the dentist said Sharpe had no way of knowing how he contracted the virus. The defense even brought forth a witness who said she had a sexual affair with Sharpe and that they had multiple partners at sex clubs. AIDS can be transmitted though sexual contact.

Sharpe said the witness lied.