Surgeon who refused to operate on HIV patient agrees to settlement

An Arizona surgeon who refused to perform surgery on the shoulder of an HIV-positive man because of fears of HIV infection has agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over the incident, The Arizona Republic reports. Mark Bourdon filed a lawsuit in 2002 after Scott Croft, MD, refused to operate on him because of the risk of HIV exposure to himself, his staff, and his family. "It was the position of the Department of Justice that there was a violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act," said Ron Gallegos, deputy of the civil division of the U.S. Attorney's Office. "We want to let [physicians] know that this type of discrimination won't be tolerated." Croft agreed to pay $120,000 to Bourdon and a federal fine of $20,000 in exchange for the lawsuit being dropped. Every member of Croft's medical practice also must undergo training on the treatment of HIV-positive patients, and the practice must adopt a policy against HIV discrimination, according to the settlement agreement.