Woman, 56, Gets $7 Million for STD

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- A Riverside County jury has awarded nearly $7 million to a 56-year-old woman who was unknowingly infected with herpes by a 77-year-old man, the woman's lawyer claimed.

Attorney Shaun Murphy, who represented the plaintiff, said the defendant knew he had genital herpes -- for more than 25 years -- but did not say anything about it  before having unprotected sex with the woman young enough to be his retirement-age daughter.
 
Murphy wouldn't release the name of the woman because of nature of the case. He also refused to name the defendant, whose lawyer Robert Frisbee did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
 
Murphy said his client was awarded $4 million in compensatory damages on Jan. 27 and $2.75 million in punitive damages as a result of the lawsuit filed in Riverside County Superior Court.
 
The woman was allegedly denied health insurance after contracting herpes, which is incurable.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
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