HIV-positive student sues against university expulsion and loses in court - lawyer stunned

Created: 06/01/2023 06:10

By: Momir Takac

A student sits in a university lecture hall.

(symbol image) © picture alliance/dpa |

Sina Schuldt

A student is expelled from a university because he is HIV positive.

On the other hand, he complains.

But in the last instance he surprisingly loses.

Marburg - HIV-positive people in Germany lead an almost normal life these days.

This is due to well-effective drugs that increase life expectancy to a normal level and extremely reduce the viral load of patients.

Even if many HIV-positive people are still afraid of exclusion, they are no longer stigmatized as much as they used to be.

That's what a student at the University of Marburg thought too, until an occupational medical aptitude test at the university's company medical service became his undoing.

At the end of the story, the Hessian Administrative Court ruled that the student was not allowed to continue his studies in dentistry.

HIV-positive student is expelled from the university and sues

The

reported on the shocking case.

The student in question is now 34 years old and has known since 2012 that he is HIV positive.

After school, he made his kindergarten dream come true and began studying dentistry.

He mastered two theoretical study sections at the Philipps University in Marburg, and in 2020 a practical part at the Gießen-Marburg University Hospital.

But the student did not complete this.

An aptitude test by a company doctor was due immediately before the block.

The student initially left questions about infectious diseases unanswered.

His right, as the German Aidshilfe writes.

According to the organization, there is no obligation to report HIV infection in Germany.

But because the doctor was persistent, he finally agreed to a test.

University of Marburg ignores court decision

The result was of course positive.

The student remained calm until the doctor replied that his studies were on the brink.

At first he thought this was "a bad joke," writes

.

But the university took it seriously and excluded the student for a year.

The danger for his fellow students and thus also for later patients is too great, it was said.

But it got worse.

When the year was almost over and the practical courses were due, the AIDS patient did not receive a certificate of suitability.

The reason: He refused to be checked and no longer presented any test results.

The student should provide proof of a test about his infection every month for a year and pay for it out of his own pocket.

He did this for nine months, always paying 145 euros himself.

Court rejects expert opinion from renowned German HIV researcher

Finally, the HIV-infected student complained about his exclusion and was represented by the Cologne lawyer Jacob Hösl.

“The conditions had a punitive character because the practical courses hadn’t even started at the time.

But it's about averting danger and not enforcing discipline," he argued.

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Hösl had a report prepared by one of Germany's leading HIV scientists.

With success.

In November 2021, the administrative court in Giessen followed Jürgen Rockstroh's opinion and stated that there was no reason for the exclusion from an infectious point of view.

But the joy was short-lived.

The university upheld the ban and offered solutions that did not satisfy the student.

Finally, the university drew up a "danger register" and issued a ban on entry.

On the other hand, he defended himself again.

The Administrative Court suddenly agrees with the university – the verdict stuns the lawyer

But the Hessian Administrative Court unexpectedly agreed with the university in January 2022 and effectively ended his studies in Marburg.

An "adventurous decision" for lawyer Hösl.

Above all, the reasoning stunned him.

The court rejected Rockstroh's expert opinion because he was a medical doctor "who should not be familiar with the practice in the dental courses in question from his own experience".

The student concerned also expressed his anger.

"The fact that people who are HIV positive can be removed from parts of a state university because they are seen as a dangerous object is simply incomprehensible to me.

And it even goes through the courts."

Today, science has even progressed so far that the first people with HIV have been cured.