COUNTY PANEL ENDORSES SETTLING AIDS LAWSUIT.Byline: Lee Condon Daily News Staff Writer The Los Angeles County Claims Board recommended Monday that a pair of teen orphans from Palmdale should be paid $120,000 because their mother was not counseled about the risk of passing on HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. to her husband after contracting the AIDS virus AIDS virus n. See HIV. through a blood transfusion blood transfusion, transfer of blood from one person to another, or from one animal to another of the same species. Transfusions are performed to replace a substantial loss of blood and as supportive treatment in certain diseases and blood disorders. at High Desert Hospital 13 years ago. Both parents died of complications related to acquired immune deficiency syndrome Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) A viral disease of humans caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which attacks and compromises the body's immune system. . The mother died at the age of 26 in February 1991. The father died at 33 in February 1996. The children and their father received a $169,000 settlement after the mother's death - $70,000 paid by the American Red Cross American Red Cross: see Red Cross. and $99,000 paid by the county. After the father died, the children sued the county and the American Red Cross again. According to documents filed with the claims board, this time around county lawyers have recommended settling for $120,000 with the American Red Cross set to pay an additional $80,000. ``It's just a sad, sad case,'' said Tom Moser, the children's attorney. ``The kids lost both their parents to AIDS.'' The children, a 16-year-old boy and 14-year-old girl, now live with their father's sister. According to Moser, the American Red Cross started screening blood they donated to hospitals three months after the mother received 10 units of blood January 24, 1985, for treatment of an illness. According to a memorandum to the claims board written by Gary Miller, an attorney for the county, the Red Cross determined in May 1986 that one of the units of blood provided to High Desert Hospital was contaminated with the human immunodeficiency virus human immunodeficiency virus n. HIV. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) A transmissible retrovirus that causes AIDS in humans. . In June, the mother was told she had received contaminated blood and days later tested positive for HIV. The mother did not receive counseling about sexual transmission of HIV until a week later. In 1985, the American Red Cross started screening its blood supply for HIV. The settlement recommendation has been sent to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is the five member governing board of Los Angeles County, California. Members of the board of supervisors are elected by district, the current members as of April 2006 are:
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