DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

Court of Appeals: Patient in 2007 TB/CDC scare can go ahead with lawsuit

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Dissent

I am not litigation-happy, but I am really glad to read this news from The Associated Press:

The Atlanta man who was thrust into the center of a 2007 international tuberculosis scare won a major legal victory Friday when a federal appeals court allowed his lawsuit to move forward claiming health officials publicized his condition to make an example out of him.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court’s decision to dismiss the lawsuit on grounds that Andrew Speaker didn’t show enough evidence that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was to blame for the breach in Speaker’s privacy.

The three-judge panel found that there was enough evidence to “raise a reasonable inference, and thus a plausible claim, that the CDC was the source of the disclosures at issue.”

Read more of their coverage on NECN.  They provide a nice recap of the history of the case.

I’ve covered this privacy breach since it first occurred in 2007. Earlier coverage can be found in the Chronicles of Dissent, on PogoWasRight.org (here and here) and on this site.

Andrew Speaker’s case is one of those privacy cases where significant harm has occurred to his marriage, his livelihood, and his reputation as a result of breaching his right to medical privacy. There are those who will undoubtedly argue that public health and “the greater good” outweighed his right to privacy. But when all the facts are disclosed — including any errors that may have been made about how serious a risk he posed to himself or others — then we can all sit down and remind ourselves that privacy protections were put in place for good reasons.

I do not know whether it was a CDC official who breached confidentiality or if it was a member of law enforcement who would have known his identity or his own father-in-law who was involved in the case.  Nor do I know if Speaker will be able to get a court to compel the reporter to identify the anonymous source who outed Speaker or whether he’s even suing the right party.  But I do think he’s entitled to find out who revealed his identity and to be compensated for any needless harm he may have suffered.

No related posts.

Category: Health Data

Post navigation

← What’s the actual cost of a FACTA breach?
Class action lawsuit against United Healthcare settled →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • McDonald’s McHire leak involving ‘123456’ admin password exposes 64 million applicant chat records
  • Qilin claims attack on Accu Reference Medical Laboratory. It wasn’t the lab’s first data breach.
  • Louis Vuitton hit by data breach in Türkiye, over 140,000 users exposed; UK customers also affected (1)
  • Infosys McCamish Systems Enters Consent Order with Vermont DFR Over Cyber Incident
  • Obligations under Canada’s data breach notification law
  • German court offers EUR 5000 compensation for data breaches caused by Meta
  • Air Force Employee Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Disclose Unlawfully Classified National Defense Information
  • UK police arrest four in connection with M&S, Co-op and Harrods cyberattacks (1)
  • At U.S. request, France jails Russian basketball player Daniil Kasatkin on suspicion of ransomware conspiracy
  • Avantic Medical Lab hacked; patient data leaked by Everest Group

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • DeleteMyInfo Wins 2025 Digital Privacy Excellence Award from Internet Safety Council
  • TikTok Loses First Appeal Against £12.7M ICO Fine, Faces Second Investigation by DPC
  • German court offers EUR 5000 compensation for data breaches caused by Meta
  • How to Build on Washington’s “My Health, My Data” Act
  • Department of Justice Subpoenas Doctors and Clinics Involved in Performing Transgender Medical Procedures on Children
  • Google Settles Privacy Class Action Over Period Tracking App
  • ICE Is Searching a Massive Insurance and Medical Bill Database to Find Deportation Targets

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.