RILEY V. BECTON DICKSON VASCULAR ACCESS, INC.
913 F. Supp. 879 (1995)
NATURE OF THE CASE: This was a dispute over whether Becton (D) who allegedly manufactured
an unsafe I.V. catheter, would be strictly liable to Riley (P), a twenty-three-year-old
nurse, who contracted the HIV virus as a result of being stuck with an I.V. catheter needle
after initiating an I.V. in a patient. D filed a motion for summary judgment.
FACTS: P was working in the hospital's intensive care unit when a patient unfamiliar to
her was admitted on an emergency basis from the hospital's out-patient clinic. P had no
information about the patient's history but was specifically instructed to observe 'blood
and body fluid precautions' and to initiate an I.V. P got an Angiocath manufactured by D to
take the blood. This was the only type of I.V. catheter available to her. When she removed
the needle from the catheter, and was preparing to dispose of the needle the patient's left
arm moved. P reacted to his movement by moving her hand, and the needle penetrated her left
palm. P was immediately given an HIV blood test to establish a baseline and subsequently
tested negative for the virus twice. A third test revealed that she had contracted HIV from
the needle stick more than six months before. P has been on available medication since May,
1993, and was transferred from patient care to another job in the hospital until she stopped
working due to her illness. P sued D claiming that D was strictly liable because the
Angiocath had a defective design and an alternate design in which the needle is retracted
into a plastic sheath when it is withdrawn would have prevented the harm to her and was
economically and technically feasible.
ISSUE:
RULE OF LAW:
HOLDING AND DECISION:
LEGAL ANALYSIS:
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