A long-serving Texas preacher has been ordered to pay $2.45 million in damages after being found liable for transmitting genital herpes.
It is believed to be the largest verdict ever awarded in the state for this type of case, according to Fox 26 Houston. Included in the damages to be paid are $1,450,000 in compensatory damages and $1,000,000 in exemplary/punitive damages.
D.C. v. Ralph Douglas West II was filed on behalf of a woman who had unprotected sex with the pastor in March 2018, said a Click 2 Houston report.
Rev. Ralph Douglas West II is the founder and senior pastor of The Church Without Walls in Houston, Texas, per his website. More than 2,400 families attend the church, the site said.
Attorney Shaun Murphy of Slovak Baron Empey Murphy & Pinkney, LLP, the law firm that represented the plaintiff, said that he was able to prove that West lied about having herpes when he had unprotected sex with the plaintiff.
“She got an outbreak two or three days later and then went and got tested. From there, through the medical records, we were able to identify that he was the source of it, in part, because she hadn’t been with anybody else, she had a prior negative test,” Murphy said, as quoted by Click 2 Houston.
West declined to comment, according to the outlet.
“We truly hope this verdict sends a strong message to people throughout Texas and the United States who are infected with sexually transmitted diseases that they must disclose having the disease before engaging in sexual intercourse with any others,” said Murphy. “It is also important for those who have suffered harm after being infected due to another's negligent or intentional conduct to know they have a legal remedy.”
Fox 26 said the West case is one of several trial victories and settlements achieved by Murphy on behalf of victims of genital herpes in the U.S. Murphy also noted that it is unlawful to communicate genital herpes to someone unless they have informed their partner that they have the disease.
“In fact, it is considered fraud to knowingly endanger another person in this way, which exposes the person who transmits the STD to potential civil liability for substantial monetary damages,” he said.
According to the STD Center, the number of lawsuits arising from HPV and herpes transmission is on the rise. The most common reason for these suits is withholding information.