Law Firm Did Not Breach Client Confidentiality With Press Release About Med Mal Verdict, State High Court Rules
“We find that Doe waived his claims of confidentiality under the Act by voluntarily and publicly disclosing his private health information in a public trial, and the qualified protective order under HIPAA did not preclude such waiver,” Justice P. Scott Neville, Jr., wrote, citing Novak v. Rathnam (1985). “We also find that the defendants are not liable under the Act, as the evidence and testimony divulged during Doe’s medical malpractice trial were not records or communications made in the course of mental health services; therefore, the Act does not apply to the defendants’ posttrial discussion of said evidence, records, or communications.”