A Hepatitis-C carrier whose violent thrashing caused a cop to be stabbed by a doctor's bloodstained needle has been jailed for 13 months.
Jason Sneddon, 31, was high on drink and crack cocaine at the time, Falkirk Sheriff Court was told.
The incident, dating back to April 22nd 2018, occurred as hospital medics tried to take a blood sample from Sneddon, who had been found heavily intoxicated and with and a suspected head injury after he was "apparently pushed" down some stairs in St Mary's Wynd, Stirling.
The court heard Sneddon had initially been "slumped on the ground" when an ambulance crew arrived at the scene in Stirling's Old Town, but had to be arrested after starting to shout and swear.
At Forth Valley Royal Hospital, he had to be restrained by police to allow medical staff to assess him, and a doctor began to try to take a blood sample.
Sneddon began "lashing around" and after a series of failed attempts his struggles caused the doctor to stumble forwards and strike one of the officers' left middle finger with the bloodstained needle.
Michael Maguire, prosecuting, said the officer had to have HIV prophylaxis for 28 days, and spent months of anxiety waiting for the results of blood tests to confirm he had not contracted any blood-borne disease.
Mr Maguire said: "It is not in dispute that at the time of this incident the accused had Hepatitis C."
Sneddon, of Wester Hailes, Edinburgh, pleaded guilty on Tuesday [May 4th] to committing a statutory breach of the peace.
Solicitor Frazer McCready, defending, said his client had been in Stirling to visit his mother when "something happened which resulted in him being pushed down a flight of stairs and striking his head".
Mr McCready added: "He has very little recollection of what went on in the hospital."
Imposing the jail term, Sheriff Derek Hamilton told Sneddon: "Your actions have consequences."
He said Sneddon had been "clearly disruptive".
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