PADOVA – The University of Geneva will have to pay her 145 thousand euros as compensation for damages, and in exchange the former student of the university of Padova will put an end to his legal battle. Thus ends the misadventure of the young woman who, in 2011, is returned from an Erasmus trip carrying the AIDS virus in her body. The infection, according to reconstructions, can only have occurred in that laboratory in Geneva where she arrived to complete her degree thesis, therefore the negligence lies with the university that hosted her, which will now have to take responsibility for it by paying her an amount that was settled in the sum of 145,120.40 euros.
The contagion
How the infection occurred remains a mystery: according to what the girl described, in fact, it could not have been caused by a punctured glove or a broken test tube, or by some tiny abrasion on the skin. One of the hypotheses put forward by experts is that it may have entered by air, but nothing concretely demonstrable. What is certain is that the virus that attacked his body is identical to those constructed in the laboratory, as confirmed by analyzes of the genetic sequence. She never had any doubts about this. The facts date back to 2011: the girl, at the time a student at the University of Padua, had flown to Geneva to study the HIV virus: a job that would have been useful for her degree thesis, to be discussed upon her return to the city . The experiments in the laboratory lead her to manipulate parts of the virus, but she is explained to her that these are pieces that cannot replicate, so-called defects. In short, it would be about theoretically risk-free test. Everything seems to be going well: the Erasmus trip ends and shortly afterwards the girl brilliantly defends her degree thesis. The drama emerges only years later, in 2019, almost by chance.
Milan, the house (belonging to Dino Buzzati) sold 14 times: the doorman of the building was responsible for the scams
The discovery
It was the evening of Boxing Day: the phone call came from the analysis laboratory where he had taken a sample, the ritual check to be able to donate blood. The communication is telegraphic and breathtaking: the test is positive for HIV. The young woman, now no longer a student, is shocked. That news weighs like a boulder on her young life: it is a sentence with no expiration and no possibility of appeal. But one certainty is unshakable for her: the infection occurred in Geneva, in that laboratory, there can be no other explanation. Thus began a long legal battle which initially involves the University of Geneva, and collaterally also the University of Padua and the Ministry of the University. He relies on the lawyer Serpetti, an expert in personal injury related to the healthcare sphere, and on one of the most advanced Italian research centers for AIDS. The Virology laboratory of the University of Tor Vergata in Rome is also affected. A long study phase begins, which lasts five years. At the end, the experts put down in black and white what the girl had suspected from the first moment: “The virus she has in her body is identical to those built in the laboratory.”
Rome, the fake broker and the 1.5 million maxi scam: who is Stefano Sambrotta, the investors’ money ended up in a phantom fund
This is confirmed by detailed analyzes of the genetic sequence. The story is incredible and it is no coincidence that it attracts the attention of the scientific community: in fact, it is probably the first case in the world of contagion with a virus generated in a laboratory, without any obvious accidents such as broken gloves or a puncture. Yesterday, at the Board of Directors meeting, the University of Padua announced that the legal matter is coming to an end and that the parties are signing a “settlement agreement” to which the University of Padua itself also adheres. This is compensation agreed between the parties, which will serve to cover at least in part “the pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages” suffered by the girl and her family. The papers will soon be passed to the court, where presumably the case will find its conclusion.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED