updated 3:23 p.m. ET April 7, 2005

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. - A woman is suing Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, claiming he knowingly gave her a sexually transmitted disease.

In the civil lawsuit, Sonya Elliott, who says she is Vick’s former girlfriend, claims Vick gave her genital herpes in an April 2003 encounter.

In the complaint, Elliott, 26, seeks damages, alleging negligence by Vick, unwanted physical contact, pain, suffering and potential future medical complications.

In a statement issued through a spokesman, the Falcons said the team would not comment on the lawsuit, but hoped the issue “will be resolved in a fair and expeditious manner.”

Elliott claims she met Vick, 24, in Virginia Beach, Va., in 2001 — both lived in the area — and had an off-and-on relationship with him before and after she moved to the Atlanta area in 2002.

Elliott, a health worker who specializes in geriatric care, took legal action after Vick refused to help her deal with the symptoms she says he infected her with, said Cale Conley, Elliott’s attorney.

Vick’s attorney has until May 6 to respond to the lawsuit, which was filed March 14 in Gwinnett County State Court.

Genital herpes, a virus, is a permanent condition that can be treated with medication, but not cured. It is spread through sexual contact.

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