United Blood Services, Division of Blood Systems, Inc. v. Quintana

In May 1983, Plaintiff, Mrs. Quintana suffered a gunshot wound and underwent emergency surgery in a Colorado hospital. During surgery she received several units of blood and other blood products. She subsequently showed symptoms consistent with the AIDS virus. She was, in fact, later diagnosed. It was later determined that the donor of a unit of blood, processed and supplied to the hospital by defendant, UBS, was a member of a high-risk group for AIDS. Plaintiff patient and her husband filed a negligence action against UBS. In a pretrial motion, Plaintiffs attempted to introduce expert testimony from a physician who would have testified as to the applicable standard of care in the acquisition, preparation, and transfer of human blood. Defendant’s moved to preclude his testimony and the trial court granted the motion. At trial, the court ruled that the local statute imposed a professional standard of care, as opposed to the general standard of reasonable care, on the blood bank ing community as it was engaged in medical services. Based on the pretrial motion noted above, Plaintiff’s expert was not permitted to testify in connection with the proper testing and screening procedures involved in blood acquisition, preparation, and transfer. The jury, instructed by the judge that the industry standard was the proper one to be applied, found for the Defendant.