Canas v. Al-Jabi

In Canas v. Al-Jabi, 282 Ga. App. 764, 788-790 (2) (a) (639 SE2d 494) (2006), the plaintiff brought what he characterized as an "administrative failure to warn claim." Id. at 770. He alleged that the defendants had negligently failed to notify blood transfusion recipients of their possible exposure to HIV. Id. at 789-790 (2) (a). Although the hospital had already made the medical judgment that using untested blood carried an unacceptable risk of infecting patients with HIV, the hospital's administrators made a purposeful decision not to notify the transfusion recipients of the risk based on concerns regarding the expense, logistical complexity, and legal implications of patient notification. Id. Under these unique circumstances, the Court held that the decision not to give notice of the medical risk was an administrative act based on ordinary negligence, rather than professional negligence. Id.