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Fellow Airline Passengers Sue TB Lawyer

They're just after my money, says newlywed

By Colleen Barry,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 13, 2007 4:37 AM CDT

(Newser) – Nine airline passengers are suing the Atlanta lawyer infected with a rare TB strain who flew to Europe for his wedding despite CDC warnings not to travel. The $1.3 million suit filed in Montreal claims Andrew Speaker recklessly exposed them to a deadly disease. The passengers, seven Canadians and two from the Czech Republic, flew from Prague to Montreal on Speaker's flight.

None of the passengers has tested positive for TB. "I think a lot of this is driven by the fact that I've been portrayed as this super-wealthy, trust-fund child,"  said Speaker. When CDC officials finally tracked down Speaker, he was ordered to hospital isolation for treatment. Officials now think his TB is more treatable than first believed.

In this image made from television and released by ABC News,  Andrew Speaker, right and his wife Sarah are interviewed at National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, Colo on Good Morning America aired Friday June 1, 2007. Speaker, 31, an Atlanta attorney quarantined with a dangerous strain of...
In this image made from television and released by ABC News, Andrew Speaker, right and his wife Sarah are interviewed at National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, Colo on "Good Morning America"...   (Associated Press)
This June 6, 2007 file handout photo released by the Public Affairs Office of the National Jewish Medical and Research Center, shows tuberculosis patient Andrew Speaker in his isolation room at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver.  Nine people filed a $1.3 million lawsuit Thursday, July...
This June 6, 2007 file handout photo released by the Public Affairs Office of the National Jewish Medical and Research Center, shows tuberculosis patient Andrew Speaker in his isolation room at the National...   (Associated Press)
This undated photo released by the University of Georgia School of Law on Thursday May 31, 2007 shows Andrew Speaker at the John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, Ga. Andrew Speaker, 31, who has a rare and dangerous form of tuberculosis that has proved resistant to drugs is under the...
This undated photo released by the University of Georgia School of Law on Thursday May 31, 2007 shows Andrew Speaker at the John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, Ga. Andrew Speaker, 31, who has a rare...   (Associated Press)
Andrew Speaker looks out of his room at National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Thursday, May 31, 2007, in Denver. Speaker, 31, arrived at Denver's National Jewish Medical and Research Center on Thursday. He was quarantined Friday, after his return from his European honeymoon, in the first such action taken...
Andrew Speaker looks out of his room at National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Thursday, May 31, 2007, in Denver. Speaker, 31, arrived at Denver's National Jewish Medical and Research Center on...   (Associated Press)
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