Navy veteran has claimed he had no idea he was living with HIV for more than two decades, because government health care workers never informed him of his positive test result in the mid-1990s.

Navy veteran has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Veteran Affairs claiming health officials neglected to tell him he was HIV positive in 1995 .

The HIV test was done in November 1995 as part of standard lab testing at a U.S.

Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Columbia, South Carolina, the lawsuit states.

The veteran, identified in the lawsuit as John Doe to protect his privacy, was hurt in a 1976 ship wreck while serving in the Navy, the lawsuit states.

A doctor at the V.A.'s Columbia medical center ordered the lab work that included the HIV test in November 1995. .

Guidelines require that patients be informed of any positive test result, and that treatments begin. .

The Navy veteran, identified as John Doe, said he ended up with 'full-blown AIDS' after VA officials in South Carolina kept him in the dark about the diagnosis .

'In clear contravention of the standard of care, Mr Doe was not informed of the positive HIV test until decades later,' the lawsuit states.

The doctor asked him who his infectious disease doctor was, and the veteran said he didn't have one.

That doctor also asked the veteran if he knew he was HIV positive, and he responded that he was never told about any positive test?

That doctor 'does not diagnose Mr Doe with HIV, nor does he even add the positive HIV test to Mr Doe's problem list or medical history in his medical chart to flag the positive HIV test for subsequent providers,' the complaint states.

hospital - Maimonides Medical Center in New York City - that he received a definitive diagnosis and began treatment for HIV/AIDS. .

Department of Veterans Affairs medical center (pictured) in Columbia, South Carolina, the lawsuit states.