Osborn v. Irwin Memorial Blood Bank

7 Cal. Rptr. 2d 101 (1992)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
O
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Osborn v. Irwin Memorial Blood Bank

California Court of Appeal
7 Cal. Rptr. 2d 101 (1992)

Play video

Facts

In 1983, at the age of three weeks, Michael Osborn (plaintiff) contracted the AIDS virus from a blood transfusion during a surgical procedure performed at the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center (Medical Center) (defendant). The blood for the transfusion was supplied by the Irwin Memorial Blood Bank (Irwin) (defendant). Michael’s parents, Paul and Mary (plaintiffs) filed suit against the Medical Center and Irwin for damages on various theories. The trial court granted the Medical Center’s motion to dismiss the claims against it. At trial against the remaining defendant, Irwin, experts on behalf of the Osborns testified that Irwin’s blood testing and donor screening practices prior to Michael’s surgery were negligent given the concerns nationwide about AIDS at the time and because Irwin did not perform anti-HBc tests on its donors. Conversely, experts testifying on behalf of Irwin noted that Irwin’s blood testing and donor screening practices at the time were consistent with those of other blood banks across the country. The jury held for the Osborns. Thereafter, the trial court granted Irwin’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict on the issue of negligence. The Osborns appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Perley, A.J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 807,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 807,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 807,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Torts

Key Terms