By The Law Offices of John Day, P.C. on Jan 31, 2024 06:37 am
Where an HCLA plaintiff sent pre-suit notice to a hospital and two doctors, the hospital had all the relevant documents, the doctors were independent contractors of the hospital who could only access the records for treatment purposes, and plaintiff’s HIPAA form was noncompliant and only allowed records to be released to plaintiff’s counsel, dismissal for the doctors was affirmed, but dismissal of the claim against the hospital was reversed. In Christie v. Baptist Memorial Hospital d/b/a Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women, No. W2022-01296-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 15, 2023), plaintiffs filed an HCLA claim based on the lack of treatment received by their newborn daughter, who was born and died on the same day at defendant hospital. Before filing suit, plaintiffs sent pre-suit notice to defendant hospital and two doctors who had been involved in the baby’s treatment. It was undisputed that the HIPAA authorization sent with the notice only allowed records to be released to plaintiff’s counsel rather than to other parties receiving notice. Defendants filed motions to dismiss based on the faulty HIPAA authorizations, which the trial court “reluctantly” granted. On appeal, dismissal of the claims against the doctors was affirmed, but dismissal of the claim against the hospital was reversed.
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