Remember when Prime Healthcare and Shasta Regional Medical Center were fined by federal and state agencies for breaching patient privacy? They had willfully disclosed patient details to the media after the media had reported the patient’s complaint about them.
At the time, I noted that just because a patient discloses information, that does not give the covered entity the right to then disclose additional information – however much they may wish to defend their reputation in the media. I had previously expressed concerns about this in 2010 after another entity responded publicly to a patient’s complaint.
The same principle and restrictions apply to lawyers whose clients may complain about them publicly. Debra Cassens Weiss reports that one lawyer is paying the price for violating that prohibition:
A lawyer accused of disclosing confidential information from his clients in response to their Internet criticism has been suspended for 18 months.
Lawyer James Underhill will have to show rehabilitation before returning to law practice, according to the order by Colorado’s presiding disciplinary judge. The Legal Profession Blog notes the suspension.
According to the order, Underhill disclosed confidential information in response to clients’ Internet complaints about his fees or services in two instances.
In the first, Underhill responded to complaints on two websites by former clients, a husband and wife, “with Internet postings that publicly shamed the couple by disclosing highly sensitive and confidential information gleaned from attorney-client discussions,” the order says.
Read more on ABA Journal.