This is the kind of insider breach that makes patients lose confidence in hospitals. I am not surprised that the jury came down hard on the hospital. Of the $300,000 award, $295,000 is punitive damages against the hospital for not doing anything against the doctor when they were made aware of the problem.
A Coffee County jury on Tuesday awarded $300,000, including punitive damages, to plaintiff Amy Pertuit against Medical Center Enterprise for illegal access and disclosure of protected health information.
In a unanimous verdict, the jury found that Medical Center Enterprise failed to take action against its then-employee, Dr. Lyn Diefenderfer, after it learned that Dr. Diefenderfer had illegally accessed and disclosed Pertuit’s medical records.
Read more about the case on Dothan Eagle.