I haven't commented on the tuberculosis patient who was diagnosed with a very dangerous, drug-resistant version of the disease then traveled overseas and back in defiance of medical advice. Frankly, the behavior was incredibly selfish and unbelievably self-absorbed. It turns out the guy is a lawyer from Atlanta.
And he's pretty likely to get himself sued over his behavior.
(Andrew) Speaker flew to Europe for his wedding and honeymoon after being advised by health officials not to make the trip because he had TB. Then, while he was in Rome, U.S. health officials told him to stay put because further tests showed he had an even more dangerous, drug-resistant type of TB than previously thought.
The 31-year-old newlywed disregarded those instructions, taking commercial jets to Prague and then Montreal in an attempt to sneak back into the United States.
In an interview earlier this week with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Speaker said he declined to report to Italian health officials because he believed the only lifesaving care for his condition was available in the U.S.
"I'm a very well-educated, successful, intelligent person," he told the newspaper. "This is insane to me that I have an armed guard outside my door when I've cooperated with everything other than the whole solitary-confinement-in-Italy thing."
A barrage of criticism was posted Thursday on the Web site of a Georgia newspaper that carried Speaker's engagement announcement and allows outsiders to post comments.
Under a picture of the smiling couple on the Appen Newspapers Web page, a person signed as 'Concerned Citizen' wrote: "Warned not to fly but just put your personal pleasure above the safety of other passengers. I hope you get sued by potential victims for your actions."
Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University, agreed with those who feel Speaker has exposed himself to possible litigation.
"There are a number of cases that say a person who negligently transmits an infectious disease could be held liable," he said.
Speaker apparently attended the US Naval Academy (but may not have graduated from there according to a biography, since it mentions that he completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Georgia). And his firm specializes in personal injury lawsuits (their website has been taken down), so he certainly had to be aware that he was opening himself up to lawsuits. There is also some question now that he even got married while in Greece:
Meanwhile, questions arose as to whether the wedding even took place. The mayor of the island of Santorini in Greece, Angelos Rousso, told The Associated Press: "There was no wedding. They came for a marriage but they did not have the required papers." He said the couple stayed in a hotel for three days and then left.
This man will spend years getting out of the hole he dug for himself through his selfish actions.
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Well, as the old saying goes, if he respresents himself, he has an ass for a lawyer.
But, apparently his father is a lawyer, too….
The rich irony of the ambulance chaser exposing other people to a deadly disease aside, a couple of questions. How did he contract the TB in the first place? What if he had been a terrorist entering the country who had purposely been infected with smallpox?