SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND AURORA HEALTH CARE UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

Complainant No. 1

1. In August 2015, Aurora employed an orthopedic surgeon at a small medical facility owned and operated by Aurora.

2. For several years, Complainant No. 1 suffered from hip problems. In August 2015, his Aurora primary care physician referred him to an Aurora orthopedic surgeon employed at this facility.

3. On August 6, 2015, Complainant No. 1 visited the orthopedic surgeon for evaluation and care. After examining Complainant No. 1, the orthopedic surgeon advised the complainant that he would need hip replacement surgery.

4. In response to questions about his medical history, Complainant No. 1 advised the orthopedic surgeon that he has HIV. Upon learning this, the orthopedic surgeon stated he would not perform surgery on the complainant because he personally had chosen not to perform surgery on patients with HIV due to the risk of blood borne pathogen transmission. The orthopedic surgeon offered to write a letter to another physician on behalf of the complainant, but did not take any other steps to refer him to another Aurora orthopedic surgeon.

5. After the surgeon refused to accept Complainant No. 1 as a surgical patient, the Aurora orthopedic surgeon did not inform Aurora management that he had declined to perform surgery. Neither Aurora management nor the Aurora orthopedic surgeon followed up with the complainant or arranged for him to be treated by another Aurora orthopedic surgeon. Instead, the complainant searched for and found another surgeon on his own. In October 2015, the complainant was able to secure treatment at a different hospital not affiliated with Aurora.

6. During the two-month period from August 2015, when the surgeon refused to accept Complainant No. 1 as a surgical patient until he located another orthopedic surgeon in October 2015, the complainant continued to suffer significant hip pain, as well as emotional distress because of the discrimination he faced.