The principle that individuals whose protected health information is stolen, lost, or otherwise inappropriately used, accessed, or left unsecured have no private right of action against the person or entity responsible for the breach under the HIPAA/HITECH laws may change for victims of identity theft who can show the theft was caused by a HIPAA breach, at least if the action is brought in the 11th Circuit.
Continue Reading PHI Breach Involving Health Plan Leads to Lawsuit by Identity Theft Victims Who Were Plan Members
Lawsuits
The Hazards of Data Mining: Minnesota AG Sues Collection Agency for Breach, Improper Use of PHI
By William Maruca on
A Wall Street-based medical collection service has been sued by the Minnesota Attorney General after losing a laptop containing sensitive information about 23,500 patients treated by two hospitals which contracted…
A First: Connecticut AG Settles With Health Net Over Breach For $250,000
By William Maruca on
In the first settlement of a HIPAA enforcement action brought by a state attorney general under the new authority granted by the HITECH Act, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced…
Continue Reading A First: Connecticut AG Settles With Health Net Over Breach For $250,000
Help Me Understand HIPAA!
By Fox Rothschild LLP on
It’s been years since HIPAA became a household term. Yet, there continues to be a significant amount of confusion about when it applies, what types of uses and disclosures of PHI are …
GINA (the new federal law, not a girl) May Spur Lawsuits
By Fox Rothschild LLP on
Yesterday, the White House Office of the Press Secretary announced that President Bush signed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 ("GINA"). The intent of GINA is to protect individuals from employers and insurance companies denying employment, promotions or health coverage to people when genetic tests show they have a predisposition to cancer, heart disease, or other ailments. But critics of the law are concerned that certain provisions are vague and may expose employers and insurers to frivolous lawsuits.
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination in Employment ("GINE") Coalition lobbied and prepared numerous letters to Congress to have certain provisions of GINA revised prior to enactment in order to protect employers’ nondiscriminatory practices and legitimate collection and uses of genetic information. According to Michael Eastman, executive director of labor law policy at the US Chamber of Commerce and a member of the GINE Coalition, the group remains concerned that GINA (1) will not preempt inconsistent state laws, (2) will award “excessive” punitive and compensatory damages that will likely encourage “unmeritorious litigation," and (3) lacks exceptions to provisions barring the collection of genetic information.
For a good review of the pros and cons of GINA, see an article published by GenomeWeb Daily News. For a quick and dirty summary of legal provisions of GINA, click and read on . . . Continue Reading GINA (the new federal law, not a girl) May Spur Lawsuits
Courts Begin Allowing Plaintiffs To Use HIPAA as Standard in Privacy Suits
By Fox Rothschild LLP on
The National Law Journal reported in its June 2007 issue that The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is raising new legal fears for health care providers concerning privacy suits. Labor and employment attorneys are concerned that courts have begun to let plaintiffs use HIPAA standards to prove liability in privacy suits, even though the law doesn’t currently provide a private right of action. And a new federal crackdown on HIPAA violators is also causing concerns for health care providers. Continue Reading Courts Begin Allowing Plaintiffs To Use HIPAA as Standard in Privacy Suits