Skip to main content

Your Medical Records Are Private

TMZ had a recent article saying how employees of the hospital where Lamar Odom was taken after his overdose issue were trying to take pictures of him and access his medical records. When the people who ran the hospital got wind of it, they fired the employees on the spot:
Lamar Odom was betrayed by several staffers at Sunrise Hospital in Vegas, and we've learned they've been summarily fired. 
We're told the workers were all trying to sneak a photo of Lamar as he fought for his life inside the hospital. Our sources say some of them tried to access his medical records, in violation of HIPAA rules.
Good. Would you go to a hospital or clinic or other medical provider whose employees disclose your medical information to others?

 The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) imposes severe monetary fines and even jail time for people accessing patients' medical records without their consent. 

 And people do go to jail for this. Just last February, an employee at a Texas hospital who improperly accessed others' medical records was sentenced to 18 months in prison.  A few years ago, a doctor was sentenced to 4 months in prison for improperly accessing people's medical records. 

 The federal government enforces the monetary fines and criminal part of HIPAA, after the victims file a complaint. So you can't sue under HIPAA, but you can sue the wrongdoer under similar New York state privacy laws, including suing the employer of the wrongdoer for, e.g., negligent supervision and other lack of controls. 

 This office has successfully handled such cases in the past. If you believe someone has improperly accessed or disclosed your medical information, contact this office at 516-252-9500.



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Respond to Demands for Evidence or Be Prepared to Have Your Case Thrown Out!

The evidence or fact-gathering phase of a lawsuit is called "discovery". Each party is entitled to demand various kinds of evidence from the other party or parties in preparation for a possible trial. Two common kinds of discovery demands are a "Demand for Discovery and Inspection" and "Interrogatories" (which are written questions, answered in writing, under oath). (Psst: Interrogatories are basically a waste of time, but that will be left for another day.) In a recent decision , a New York appeals court affirmed the ruling of a lower court, throwing out a case for plaintiff's failing to respond to defendants' discovery demands. In that case, an LLC sued an architecture firm for malpractice and breach of contract. During the discovery phase, defendants architects served plaintiff with a Demand for Discovery and Inspection and Interrogatories. You only have 20 days to respond or object to discovery demands, or you lose a lot of rights in how yo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Know Your Rights: Money/Remedy at Law vs. Equitable Relief

When you bring a lawsuit (or some other kind of action or proceeding) in court, you are asking the court to give you some kind of relief. Generally speaking, that relief is either money (called "damages" or "money damages" or a "remedy at law") or equitable relief. Everyone knows what money is. What is "equitable relief"? It is relief other than money. Some examples of equitable relief (or "relief at equity" or an "equitable remedy") are:  specific performance of a contract -- you entered into a contract with another party for them to do something; they failed to do it; you sue them to force them to perform as they agreed to in the contract an injunction -- you bring an action to make another party do something or stop doing something rescission of contract -- you entered into a contract; you believe there is a problem with the contract, or the other side committed fraud, or the other side can't perform its oblig...
Post a Comment
Read more

Consumer Law Update: FTC sues DIRECTV for Deceptive Business Practices

I'm sure most people think that "of course" big businesses are constantly, intentionally, ripping people off and are engaged in deceptive business practices. As a lawyer, my inclination is I can't believe a big business, with lots of executives and lots of lawyers looking things over, could possibly offer promos or services that are so misleading or deceptive that they are illegal. They can't possibly be that dumb. Sometimes I'm wrong. For instance, the Federal Trade Commission has sued DIRECTV in San Francisco federal court for engaging in deceptive and misleading business practices in violation of federal law. DIRECTV was telling consumers, hey, look at our low monthly rates and look at all the great stuff you get, come sign up with us! However, DIRECTV failed to adequately disclose that, oh, by the way, in order to get that great deal, you have to sign a two-year contract; those low rates are only good for the first year; your monthly bill could go ...
Post a Comment
Read more