Seeking Compensation From An Invasion Of Privacy

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There are few events in life more intimate than that of medical procedures. You might naturally expect to have your privacy respected when being prepped and during surgical and medical procedures like giving birth, having a c-section, cancer surgeries, and more. Unfortunately, the expectation of privacy in situations like those and many more is not a guarantee. When your privacy has been violated, you may be owed money damages. Read on to find out more.

Hospital Breach of Privacy

Like many, the revelations that a hospital in California allowed the recording of patients during certain gynecological procedures likely brought both shock and sadness. The hospital in question allegedly placed cameras in certain areas in an effort to stop employee misbehavior. You only have to be a patient or have a loved one who is a patient to understand how violated the victims must feel after finding out about the breach. While the recording of medical procedures does often occur, it is always with the knowledge and consent of the patient and that did not happen in the referenced case.

When Victims are Owed Damages

While the hospital privacy invasion case made the headlines, there are less-publicized privacy breaches every day. Any time you are harmed by information, videos, photos, or any other material that you assumed would be private, you have a cause of action. The damages can be wide-ranging and depend on the circumstances and the depth of harm done to victims. In most cases, the release of private information can create psychological harm through mental anguish and embarrassment. That translates into the following categories of personal injury harm:

1. Public disclosure of sensitive information. The case of the hospital videos noted above falls into this category. This form of privacy breach was not just allowed to take place by the hospital, but was at the behest of the hospital. The form of damage rises above the level of negligence and can create the need for punitive damages. Punitive damages send a message to the defendants and others in an effort to prevent further breaches.
2. Psychological trauma. The emotions a victim feels when their privacy has been invaded can be many – embarrassment, shame, emotional distress, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and more.
3. Loss of consortium is available to loved ones who are negatively impacted by the harm done to the victim.

If you or someone you care about has become the victim of an invasion of privacy, speak to a personal injury attorney as soon as possible.

For more information, contact Burnett & Williams PC.

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28 July 2019