What legal options do I have against ems personnel. Hipaa violations/ defamation of character.
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What legal options do I have against ems personnel. Hipaa violations/ defamation of character.
My wife having a seizure while visiting me at work; she had no history of seizures. EMS was called and when they arrived, I was explaining symptoms to one of them who was kneeling next to me. I mentioned pupil dilation, the EMT standing near by starts saying that pupil dilation could only be caused by drug overdose. Proceeds to ask loudly what drugs my wife is on. This occurred in front of several of my employees. After arriving at hospital. I asked the doctor about pupil dilation and he stated it was normal during a seizure. My wife’s tox screen came back negative for drugs. She had actually missed a few doses of medication which caused the event.
Asked on October 16, 2016 under Personal Injury, Georgia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
That is neither a HIPPA violation or defamation: he was asking about "drugs" which includes both over-the-counter and legal prescription drugs as well as illegal drugs, so there was nothing defamatory about it; and we was not *disclosing* patient information, which may be a vioation, but was rather asking about information which could help save your wife's life.
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