ABSTRACT
This chapter explores some factors that may influence perception of risk by the courts, by employers, and by receivers of services. It suggests that such factors may influence perceptions of risk probability and risk severity differently as exemplified by the outcome of Leckelt v. Hospital District No. 1. The chapter reviews traditional, psychological, and cultural conceptions of risk. It focuses on perceptions of risk in the workplace, particularly in health care settings surrounding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. The chapter presents preliminary results of a study of perceptions of HIV transmission in health care settings by hospital workers in Sydney, Australia, which raise additional questions about how risk is perceived. Health care workers are not immune to concerns about HIV transmission risks at work. Risk was seen as a neutral accounting of the probability of gains and losses, particularly in gambling contexts.
