Can You Sue for a HIPAA Violation?
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) regulations aim to protect individual healthcare information and prevent the disclosure of sensitive personal and medical data. When there’s a breach or intentional mishandling of healthcare records, individuals affected have questions about their right to compensation. In this article, we’ll answer this important question: Can You sue for a HIPAA Violation?
Who can Sue for a HIPAA Violation?
Prior to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, individuals were primarily required to file complaints with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within 60 days of discovering the incident. The OCR was then tasked with investigating and, where applicable, imposing fines, enforcing corrective actions, or, in extreme cases, terminating agreements for enforcement discretion. With the passage of this bill, individuals now have increased leeway to file personal actions against HIPAA-regulated entities.
Individuals whose protected health information has been compromised can pursue both private lawsuits and claims in various circumstances, such as:
- Individual identity theft: When PHI contains biometric identifiers like full face photographs, fingerprints, or voice recordings, covered entities may be held more strictly accountable for protection (HIPAA, §165(b)).
- Improper disclosure: Violating individual privacy by intentionally discloosing PHI or, less culpably, doing so without proper safeguards to mitigate harm.
- Criminal activity: Allegedly criminal actions against affected parties, such as insurance or identity theft schemes stemming from compromised PHI.
Here, we’ll bifurcate the affected classes:
• Complainants (Plaintiffs): Claim damages for actual monetary, health, or reputation-harming consequences resulting from breach notification.
• Putative Class Members: As collective plaintiffs, file to bring a class action regarding individual privacy violations under this protection.
Evidence, Remedies, and Factors Weighing Lawsuits Success
To potentiate a HIPAA complaint, plaintiffs typically demonstrate and prove:
- Identity
- Infringing occurrence
- Associated, discernible harm
Constituting a suit hinges upon the following:
| Category | Evidence/Requisity | | As noted previously, the evidence demands detailed documentation of personal exposure risks, financial distress consequences from the breach (disposal of assets), *tangible losses and physical harms*. It has significant implications for victims facing discrimination, harassment, hate-motivated threats within institutions, or reputations under attack. Healthcare system corruption, insurance denials after a breach can justify separate legal actions or court proceeding. **Current Outlook & Future Developments** The HIPAA Rules amendment, enacted with new protection for individuals to demand their rights, gives impetus to the filing cases seeking damages. Some developments now unfolding include 1
) 2020 Amendments : Healthcare providers, entities healthcare vendors, and plans more, now have mandatory electronic patient access to Electronic Heal
| : | : |
| Who | Victim/patients |
| Identicality | Confirmation ID |
| ViolativeEvent | Proof breach/philo |
| Subsequently Caused Harm|Medical documentation, financial evidenceEnhance Your Knowledge with Curated Videos on Guns and Accessories
