Add Up These Expenses After Contracting an STI as an Adult Performer
If you work as an adult performer, you're paid by the scene — which means that you need to be able to work. Contracting a sexually transmitted infection on set is rare, given the testing that performers go through today, but it can still happen. If you've contracted an STI and can prove that you got it from a fellow performer, you'll want to consult a personal injury lawyer and launch a lawsuit against the film studio for which you were working at the time. Documenting the cost of this issue will help you to know exactly how much to seek in damages.
Loss of Future Work
Depending on the type of STI that you now have and the amount of time that it takes to get rid of, it may be a period of time before you're medically cleared to work again. Given that you'll face a lack of income during this span — one in which you'd typically be working — you'll want to calculate the amount of lost work and lost earnings that you'll suffer. For example, if you have five scenes lined up that would pay you a total of $7,500 during this span, this amount will need to be part of what you seek in damages.
Care Expenses
Caring for a sexually transmitted infection isn't free; you'll need to spend some money to obtain the medication that you need to fight the disease. After it's out of your system, you'll also need to pay for testing that you can provide to the film studio to get clearance to begin working again. Each of these expenses represents money out of your pocket — all because of the negligence of one or more other parties. Your personal injury attorney will ask you for verification of these expenses to include in your lawsuit.
Reputation Harm
Contracting an STI may damage your reputation. You may find that studios don't call you back about working for them, or that certain performers express disinterest in working with you. This harm to your true reputation — all due to the negligence of another party, rather than yourself — can limit your ability to not only work in the future but may also derail the sales of your DVDs and other products off which you make a commission. Coming up with a financial cost of your reputation damage is something that your personal injury attorney can do for you.