Woman sues New York doctor over HIV test

NEW YORK - It's a question that sometimes comes up during a doctor's visit -- do you want to be tested for HIV?

But a New York woman says when she told her doctor she didn't want to know he performed the test anyway.

She says it happened after she went to Dr. Pavel Yutsis following gastric bypass surgery last year. When testing revealed she had low levels of Vitamin B-12, the woman says Yutsis suggested she take an HIV test.

But she says, after she declined, he still performed the test -- and then told her she'd tested positive for the virus.

Now she's filing a lawsuit against Yutsis for performing the test without her permission.

"It's not about her not wanting to know, it's about her having the right to make the decision about when and where she's going to find out this life-altering diagnosis," said Daniel Pepitone, the plaintiff's attorney.

New York state law requires written consent of a patient before an HIV test is administered.

A health care provider must also offering counseling to patients both before and after the test results are given.