$1-Million Award in AIDS Dental Claim
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FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A woman who contracted AIDS from a dentist has won a $1-million settlement from his insurance company.
Kimberly Bergalis, 22, of Ft. Pierce, got the award Tuesday from CNA Insurance Co., which wrote Dr. David Acer’s $1-million dental malpractice insurance policy, the Sun-Sentinel in Ft. Lauderdale reported.
Bergalis said she got AIDS from Acer when he removed her wisdom teeth in December, 1987. Acer died in September of AIDS-related cancer. The virus was passed either through blood-to-blood contact or because dental tools were contaminated, officials said.
Acer reportedly was a bisexual who treated an estimated 1,700 patients after contracting the virus and came down with full-blown AIDS.
The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta said last week that Acer apparently infected two other patients besides Bergalis.
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