JIM@AUVM.AUVM.EDU (Jim McIntosh) (06/21/89)
Office of the Mayor ART AGNOS
SAN FRANCISCO
Contact: Eileen Cahill Maloney June 6, 1989
554-6148
Agreement on "Nurse Doe" AIDS Case
A tenative agreement has been reached in the case of a San
Francisco General Hospital nurse seeking workers compensation
after claiming exposure on the job to the AIDS virus nearly 20
months ago.
Negotiations between the City and the attorney for Nurse
"Jane Doe" were bogged down over the number of City workers who
must know her identity to investigate her claim.
The City and Nurse Jane Doe's attorney agreed from the start
that confidentiality must be maintained while investigating the
claim. The delay in reaching agreement was due to the
complexities of working out this first-of-a-kind arrangement.
Under the agreement announced today, a total of four people,
including the City Attorney Louise Renne and Clare Murphy,
General Manager of the San Francisco Employees Retirement System,
may have access to the nurse's file.
If the agreement is approved by Judge Alfred Williams of the
Workers Compensation Appeals Board, Nurse Doe could receive
compensation in as little as four weeks. Judge Williams is
expected to review terms of the agreement today.
If the case is determined to be compensable, the nurse could
be eligible for initial benefits approximating $5,000 for medical
treatment, counseling and time off. There would be lifetime
coverage after that.
The city has expressed the desire to grant benefits to the
nurse once details of the case are verified.
Mayor Agnos today endorsed the agreement and said he hopes
it wins speedy approval from Judge Williams.
The Mayor noted that while the proposed resolution meets the
nurse's request that no more than four City officials have access
to her identity, future cases will probably require some
modifications so that claims are processed as quickly as
possible.
"Of course, we all hope this will be the only case of this
nature," Mayor Agnos added.