A minor sued Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center after an employee recognized him as her daughter’s schoolmate and former boyfriend when he received mental health treatment. The employee accessed his medical records and revealed to her daughter that the minor, J.J., was receiving treatment and the reason why. The daughter then shared that with classmates, resulting in J.J. being bullied.
J.J. sued for damages, making claims including breach of confidentiality and negligence per se under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
However, the Circuit Court of Cape Girardeau County granted PBRMC’s motion to dismiss because J.J. had not filed an affidavit of merit required in all cases for damages resulting from health care services.
On appeal, J.J. argued he was not required to file that affidavit because his suit stemmed from an employee not involved in his treatment improperly accessing and disseminating his information.
The essential question on appeal was what constitutes a health care service, according to the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District. As a practical matter, the court said, a health care service must involve professional medical judgment.
PBRMC argued that the statute encompasses all claims against health care providers, including cases not based on medical negligence. The Court of Appeals agreed to an extent, saying that the statute is not limited to medical malpractice claims but can also apply to other personal injury claims against health care providers. But, citing the Supreme Court of Missouri’s decision in Doe 1631 v. Quest Diagnostics, the court said the requirement only extends beyond medical malpractice when liability for an alleged personal injury involves a determination of whether a health care provider’s actions fell below the standard of reasonable medical care.
The Court of Appeals held unanimously that the suit concerns confidentiality, not medical malpractice, remanding for the trial court to reinstate J.J.’s claims against PBRMC. Judge Gary M. Gartner authored the opinion and Judges Lisa P. Page and Angela T. Quigless concurred.
J.J.’s attorney, Maureen M. Brady of McShane & Brady, said the decision makes the distinction between medical malpractice and medical privacy crystal clear.
“This was the first time I had ever had one of those motions to dismiss for failure to file an affidavit of merit actually granted, so we went ahead and appealed the case just because it was bad law sitting out there,” she said.
Michael D. Murphy of Spencer Fane, representing PBRMC, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The case is J.J. v. Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, ED111339