Woman sues lab for GH¢10 million after false HIV-positive test result cost her job in Kuwait

In her writ, filed at the High Court in Accra and shared by The Law Platform, Rahinatu Amissah, through her lawyers, said the false test result brought her shame and led to the loss of her job in Kuwait.

She indicated that she had gone to the company for an HIV test as part of her application for permanent residency in Kuwait, where she had been working as a hairdresser, in compliance with the country’s immigration requirements.

She said the Kuwaiti immigration officials were informed of the incorrect test result, which indicated she was HIV-positive.

The immigration authorities then relayed the information to her employer, which resulted in her dismissal.

Rahinatu said she was forced to return to Ghana, only to discover that her friends and family had also been informed that she was HIV-positive.

According to her, this led to severe social stigma and rejection, further worsening her situation.

The court documents revealed that Rahinatu Amissah only discovered she was not HIV-positive after undergoing further HIV tests during her pregnancy, aimed at preventing mother-to-child transmission.

Several tests, including one conducted at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, confirmed that she was not HIV-positive.

Following these results, she confronted Synlab and subsequently filed a lawsuit against the company.

She is asking the court to order the company to pay GH¢10 million in compensation, along with other claims.

Below are the reliefs she is seeking:

i. An order directing the Defendant to pay the Plaintiff the sum of Ten Million Ghana Cedis (GH¢10,000,000.00) for loss of earnings and emotional trauma caused by the Defendant’s negligence.

ii. An order directing the Defendant to pay the Plaintiff special damages assessed at Thirty-Eight Thousand Two Hundred Ghana Cedis (GH¢38,200.00).

iii. An order directing the Defendant to publish an unqualified apology to the Plaintiff in the national dailies.

iv. An order directing the Defendant to notify the Kuwaiti authorities and her former Kuwaiti employer of her HIV-negative status.

v. Costs, including legal fees.

Read the full court document below: