A personal trainer who says he contracted cold sores after kissing a woman on a date is now suing her for over £130,000 in compensation for her ‘negligence’.
Martin Ashley Conway, 45, says he has been ‘traumatised’ and his life and work seriously affected after catching the herpes simplex cold sore virus through snogging a woman during a romantic meet up in London last year.
Mr Conway claims his date – who he knew as Jovanna Lovelace and like him was a member of social network Meetup.com – was ‘negligent’ in kissing him when she had an active cold sore and owed him a duty of care to protect him from contracting a ‘virus for life’.
He says he became ill several days after the date, developing flu-like symptoms and mouth ulcers, and even had to be rushed into hospital after suffering a panic attack.
Martin Ashley Conway, 45, says he has been ‘traumatised’ and his life and work seriously affected after catching the herpes simplex cold sore virus through snogging a woman during a romantic meet up in London last year
He is now suing his date for over £130,000, claiming she must pay for infecting him with a condition which has blighted his personal and professional life and left him needing therapy.
He says she ‘had a moral and ethical and legal duty to warn me of the risks that I would be exposed to,’ adding: ‘I was kissed before I was informed of any cold sore.’
However, his date, who is in her 30s, is fighting the Central London County Court compensation claim, which her lawyers describe as ‘frivolous and vexatious’ and doomed to fail.
Fitness coach Mr Conway, of Paddington, west London, describes the fateful date in his claim form, saying: ‘I met the respondent in May 2019 and we communicated daily and this developed into an emotional and romantic relationship.
‘On 4th July 2019, the respondent invited me to an evening out. The respondent met me in central London and we kissed. Later that evening after sharing intimate kisses already she informed me, as her makeup was coming off, that she had a cold sore.
‘I had no knowledge of cold sores having never been infected with them before (and) was not aware of the contagious nature of cold sores.’
Mr Conway claims his date – who he knew as Jovanna Lovelace and like him was a member of social network Meetup.com – was ‘negligent’ in kissing him when she had an active cold sore and owed him a duty of care to protect him from contracting a ‘virus for life’
Mr Conway says he began to experience a cough two days later and had flu-like symptoms within a week. Ulcers then began to develop and spread in his mouth, which he found ‘extremely distressing.’
He says he found eating painful and, after calling 111 and being referred to hospital, he was diagnosed with ‘the lifelong virus of herpes simplex virus’ and given medication.
A few days later, he had a panic attack and collapsed at home after seeing more ulcers appearing and had to be taken to St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, by ambulance, he says.
‘My illness was worsening and I was unable to eat or leave my apartment,’ he says, adding that he endured ‘a few weeks of not leaving my property except for medical appointments.’
Mr Conway says he has been left at a higher risk of catching a more severe ailment, including the ‘rare but devastating’ sporadic encephalitis.
He also claims he can no longer go cycling, as he worries that the heat and stress will cause a flare-up.
And the stigma and pain of having the virus also has psychological implications which are hard to manage, he says.
‘While orolabialherpes may seem to be an innocuous disorder, the pain and unsightly lesions cause patients distress,’ he says.
‘Problems such as shock, anger, guilt and depression are commonly reported and these may be intensified by the lack of control that patents feel they have over the disease,’ he adds.
‘I have suffered from depression in the past and I fear that I will need regular psychological support to manage the added psychological burden caused by the nature of the infection which has been given to me.’
Mr Conway says the relationship with the woman broke down after he caught the virus.
‘I was upset, angry and very confused. I wanted justice and it was then I decided I wanted to take legal action against the respondent for the illness she brought upon me,’ he says.
He continues: ‘As a herpetic, the respondent had a moral and ethical and legal duty to warn me of the risks that I would be exposed to, considering the contagious nature of the virus and herpes being a ‘virus for life’.
‘I did not freely enter into the risks relating to the injury or any type of contagion. I was kissed before I was informed of any cold sore.
‘The respondent owed me a duty of care…(and) a harm was reasonably forseeable.
‘It is fair, just and reasonable for the court to impose a duty of care upon the respondent, due to the risk that was negligently being taken with my health, which was reasonably foreseeable which led to three weeks of severe acute symptoms, leading to emotional, physical and financial distress.’
Mr Conway, who is also studying law, goes on to say studies suggest that physical and cognitive function can be reduced in people carrying the cold sore virus.
‘I feel traumatised by the sudden reduction to my quality of life caused by the physical infection and the knowledge of the psychological vulnerability it imposes on me and am devastated that this infection can endanger my ability to perform in both my current and future career paths,’ he says.
‘I rely on sensormotor function and spatial ability to perform as a personal trainer and rely on my cognitive function to complete my law training and pursue my dream career as a lawyer.’
He is claiming £136,328 in compensation from his date, including over £100,000 for fortnightly therapy sessions until the age of 79, and payments to cover lost earnings while he was ill and to cover income protection insurance until retirement in case of further bouts.
In her defence, Miss Lovelace denies Mr Conway’s version of events and the accuracy of much of his account of their relationship.
She denies any liability, asks for the claim to be struck out, and adds: ‘This action against the defendant is frivolous and vexatious.’
‘The statement of case discloses no reasonable grounds for bringing the claim,’ she says, calling the action an ‘abuse of the process of the court.’
The case reached court briefly in February for a pre-trial directions hearing and is due back again for a further hearing later this year.