CBC News reports that one lawyer has filed potential class action lawsuits against both Western Health Authority and Eastern Health Authority in the wake of privacy breaches involving improper employee access or snooping in patients’ records:
St. John’s lawyer Bob Buckingham is leading class action lawsuits against two health authorities. (CBC)
Eastern Health disclosed in July that it had fired five employees in recent months for privacy breaches, including a nurse who had inappropriately gained access to the medical records of 122 different people.
Tammy Taylor, the woman who initiated the suit, has been so disturbed by the experience that she cannot speak publicly about it, her lawyer Bob Buckingham said Monday.
Read more on CBC News.
I don’t know how this will play out in Canada, but here in the U.S., such lawsuits are generally of no real benefit to the patients. Will Canadian courts consider psychological distress, which American courts do not generally recognize as compensable harm in such situations?