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

Insurance Companies Trying to Gag Superstorm Sandy Victims?

As reported in several news articles ( this one  is free), in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy, engineering firms were hired by insurance companies to inspect the homes of people making claims for flood damage.  There have been allegations that two of the engineering firms, U.S. Forensic out of Louisiana, and GEB HiRise out of Uniondale, forged property damage reports in order to deny claims. The NY State Attorney General is investigating those allegations and wants to talk to the homeowners.  At the same time, there are about 1,800 lawsuits in federal court involving the insurance coverage claims. A three-judge panel is trying to expedite resolution of the cases.  Last week it was revealed that one of the insurance companies, The Standard Fire Insurance Company, which is a subsidiary of Travelers Insurance, drafted language in a settlement document saying that any homeowner who accepts a payout of their claims cannot cooperate with the criminal invest...
Post a Comment
Read more

Recent Cases: Appeals Court Reverses Lower Court in Slip and Fall

In a decision issued on March 18, 2015 , a New York appeals court reversed a lower court decision dismissing a slip and fall case. The plaintiff was a 12-year-old boy. He was injured when he slipped and fell on "loose and broken pieces of asphalt" as he was running towards an ice cream truck near an Ikea store in Brooklyn. There were two interesting things about the decision. First, like many slip and fall cases, the case turned on constructive notice--how long was the loose/broken asphalt on the ground before the accident so that the defendants should have seen it and corrected the dangerous condition? The appeals court said the defendants failed to show when they last cleaned or inspected the area, so they did not establish lack of constructive notice. The more interesting thing is that apparently the boy told staff at the hospital where he was taken that he tripped over his shoelaces. The defendants found this in the hospital records and basically said, "Ha! He di...
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