I guess Mr. Speaker is going to find out what it is like being on the other side of a personal injury case. Maybe he will then experience and understand what he puts others through.

No the toughest challange he will face is navigating this disaease. My heart goes out to the passangers on the plane, but my heart goes out to Andrew Speaker too. I think if you were walking in his shoes, you'd have stumbled too.

Humm..very interesting, a very well thought out plan for someone who knew he was infected, a taped phone call, etc. Seems to me my dear Watson, something is rotten in Denmark.

Yes, it is tragic that he is young and sick. Yet, that is no excuse for his behavior. He has repeatedly stated that he had to get to Denver because that was his "one shot." Well, what if this story had never broken? How many people would not have known they were exposed? Furthermore, he is young and healthy and stands a good chance of survival. How about the other people on the plane? I'm sure there are elderly, children, people with HIV, cardiac problems, kidney problems, ect, who will not survive this TB. His actions essentially may result in their death. He was thinking only of himself, possibly to the detriment of thousands. That is inexcusable and despicable.

The tone of this post was pretty cruel. I just read the Newsweek interview with Andrew Speaker and it now makes much better sense why he did what he did. The media and CDC made him out to sound like a jerk. This guy was in the Rotary Club and likely caught it in Vietnam while actually trying to do something meaningful and help others. I'm praying for his recovery and for the health of his family. The CDC really screwed up and then had the nerve to lie about it. Thats just wrong.

He had a blog on his law firms website that has a gruesome fascination with fatal car accidents. One could imagine a psychopath writing it. It's been pulled, but it's still in the Google cache-- to read it, search for: "speakerlawfirm" blog, then click 'Cached'

This guy is really a selfish jerk. Regardless of exactly how his medical situation was communicated, he knew he was sick. He was only thinking of himself and not what he might be doing to others. He made the decision to take the risk. No one else had the option!

Two things stand out: His approval to travel was taped and him leaving the U.S. for a globe-trotting tour of Europe. You would only tape an approval if you're unsure of whether you can travel or not. He was thinking ahead in case the authorities said that he shouldn't travel. That's selfishness number one.

Selfishness number two is actually leaving the U.S. in the first place. He had TB. He knew he had TB. As a responsible individual he should have stayed home and gotten treatment and hence, not expose people in Europe and of course, the people in the commercial jets flying back home. This man is utterly selfish and self-centered. Let's just hope the people he came in contact with will not have contracted this drug-resistant form of the disease.

HE SHOULD DO JAIL TIME. HE IS SNEAKY, MANIPULATIVE, AND SELF SERVING AT THE EXPENSE OF HUNDREDS OF LIVES. HE IS A DISGRACE, MAY HIS RECOVERY BE A LONG, GRUELING AND PAINFUL ONE. AND AFTER THAT, WALK THE REST OF HIS PATHETIC LIFE WITH HIS HEAD HELD LOW SINCE HE WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO LOOK ANOTHER IN THE FACE AGAIN.

He should have been ordered not to travel. Some of the other facts of the case remain unclear and will be brought out as things move along but he should have been ordered not to travel as soon as it was found that he had TB.

TB jerkwad Andrew Speaker is a self-serving puke who doesn't deserve to live is civilized society.

If Andrew Speaker was smart enough to pass the bar exam he should have known not to leave the U.S with TB without having to be ordered not to travel. His father-in-law (working at the CDC) should have know that traveling with TB is not safe. I think that Andrew Speaker was very selfish and foolish for leaving the U.S. in the first place and is tring to make exuses for his selfish actions. His honeymoon could have been post-poned until he was heathy, but he made the choice to go anyway knowing that he had TB. He seems like the kind of man that does exactly as he pleases with any regard to others around him.

To Joy, (comment#11)
Having earned a J.D. and LL.M. initially I had the very same response as yours, i.e. Mr. Speaker's GA Bar membership! Furthermore, irrespective of the severity of the TB and any alleged comunications pertaining to his medical condition, he obviously placed his European wedding and honeymoon above his physical well-being. Enough has been said about his self-centeredness, and selfishness, which are probably and arguably strengths for a successful trial lawyer. On the other hand, his lack of common sense, his blatant disregard for public health, his willingness to gamble with the health of the airline crew, et al, and failure to 'err on the side of caution' and perhaps loose his reservation fees associated with his extensive and lavish 'wedding' plans, only remind me that I should have pursued a medical degree rather than law! I would be ashamed to be an associate of his..."birds of a feather...."

Regardless of whether he's a good guy or got this in Vietnam helping orphaned children, he did a stupid, selfish thing which could potentially kill tens or thousands of people. He recklessly endangered the lives of everyone on that plane, and the people they come in contact with, too. I just hope the TB wins.

Attention bloggers, posters, and other insomniacs:
If you think the abovelisted comments are interesting, spend a few hours reading the comments on the WSJ law pages re: A.Speaker...[the infamous TB traveler] --But first a few words from your alternate sponsors: get sound sleep quickly, drink plenty of liquids, and don a Depenz (sic) and read-on! You most assuredly will learn about healthcare abroad, political science 101, microbiology vs. legal ethics, and much, much more...
Good morning and Good Luck!

As an attorney I am very disressed by TB Andy's conduct and have filed a formal complaint with the character and fitness committee of the Georgia Bar.

where was the us government with all of this. He lands in our Country of Canada with TB yet if you tried to go to the usa with that you would be arrested and called a terrorist but this arrogant prick come into our country and get our people sick. I guess that country has no comments abouts what they are going to do with this man as he is a us citisen and has rights but what about the rights of all whom will get sick with this

I heard that he arrived in Greece without the proper papers to marry and the official wedding did not happen.

Personally, I think that all should get the facts straight before making comments on certain subjects. Andrew Speaker is a wonderful man. He would never have put anyone in harms way intentionally. The facts are, that he was told over and over again, that he was not contagious. This is recorded on tape, for those that have made comments pertaining to the Good Morning America show, which by the way, Andrew Speaker did not appear on. It was his parents, and his wifes parents.

As far as spreading a contagious strain of TB...
TB is spread by aerosol droplets expelled by people with the active disease of the lungs when they cough, sneeze, speak, kiss, or spit. These infectious droplets are 0.5 to 5 µm in diameter and about 40,000 can be produced by a single sneeze. The disease can also spread through the sharing of the unsterilized eating utensils of the infected person; in rare cases, it can spread from a pregnant woman with active TB to her fetus. ****The contraction of TB typically requires a more-than-casual contact with people who have the active disease.**** The contact should normally be either prolonged, or frequent, or intense—for example, of the kind one may have with family members or close coworkers. Under such conditions the estimated infection rate is 22%.***** A person with untreated, active tuberculosis can infect 10–15 other people per year. Others at risk include those from areas where TB is common, patients immunocompromised by conditions such as HIV/AIDS, residents and employees of high-risk congregate settings, health care workers who serve high-risk clients, medically under served, low-income populations, high-risk racial or ethnic minority populations, children exposed to adults in high-risk categories, people who take immunosuppressant drugs, and people who inject illicit drugs.[19]

Transmission can only occur from people with active—not latent—TB disease. The probability of transmission from one person to another depends upon the quantity of the infectious droplets expelled by the patient, the effectiveness of ventilation, the duration of exposure, and the virulence of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain. The chain of transmission can therefore be broken by isolating patients with active disease and starting effective anti-tuberculous therapy. After two weeks of such treatment, people with non-resistant active TB generally cease to be contagious.

THE POINT THAT I AM MAKING WITH THIS INFORMATION IS THIS:

For someone that was TOLD that he was NOT contagious, he did nothing wrong by traveling in the first place. Secondly, it is not like everyone that was in the general area of him is going to come down with TB. It is people that have had prolonged exposure to him.
Facts are, everyone in the world has more than likely been exposed to TB at some point in their lives and they do not even know it.

So to all of you that can so go and put the man down in a heart beat.. Have you had your TB test lately?

Sincerely,

Someone that grew up knowing Andrew Speaker.

I am so happy to read all the posts on this board. I have been in rage over this #@%#%#. I can't believe that ABC would take this man's side of the story, he should be prosecuted under the full extent of the law. This man is worse than the monkey from "Outbreak", he actually knew he had a disease and could potentially spread it to those around him. Even if no one else contracts his disease he is still accountable for the panic he has caused. The worst part is that since he is a personal injury lawyer it looks like he will use this media exposure to begin a lawsuit against the CDC, that's the part that really bugs me. I am so angry anyone could take this man's side.