A medical university student filed a legal case against Cabell Huntington Hospital and Marshall University because of the impermissible disclosure of some of his protected health information (PHI) to a group of students.
J.M.A, the medical student named in the lawsuit, stated that a Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine professor used his x-rays as a tool for teaching. The mark J.M.A. that identified him as the patient was not removed first from the images.
A faculty member told the university about the matter. On April 15, 2018, the dean of the medical school sent a privacy violation notification to J.M.A. The university had no knowledge about the professor using a student’s x-ray images in classes.
J.M.A. claims that because of the disclosure of his identity, he has suffered disgrace, humiliation, embarrassment, and anxiety. The number of students who had seen the x-rays is not known. It is likewise not known how many of the students had shared what they saw to other people.
The lawyers of Giatras Law Firm, namely attorneys Matthew W. Stonestreet, Troy N. Giatras and Phillip A. Childs represent J.M.A in his lawsuit to seek compensatory and punitive damages.
The defendants, particularly Radiology Inc., Cabell Huntington Hospital; Marshall University Board of Governors and Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, had filed three motions to have the lawsuit dismissed.
They sought the dismissal of the case as the plaintiff did not file it in the appropriate venue and he was unable to express his claim on which relief to be granted.