Med Mal News

A proposed class action suit has been filed against the University of California at Los Angeles Health System claiming breach of California's patient privacy law, known as the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act. Each of the 16,000 patients whose records were stolen in September 2011 from the home of a physician formerly with the UCLA Health System has the potential to recover $1,000 in damages. UCLA informed patients of the privacy breach on Nov. 4, 2011, assuring them that their Social Security numbers were not included in the stolen records. Names, birth dates and addresses were obtained, however. The plaintiffs are represented by the Los Angeles firms Kabateck Brown Kellner and The Ball Law Firm. Attorney Brian Kabateck explained the case: “Our argument is, at this point, why in the world did this doctor have this in the first place? Why was he carrying it around? Why did he take it home?” Kabateck said. “The statue was designed specifically to tell and instruct medical providers. 'You've got a heightened standard. You've got to do more than treat it like information at a company that sells copy machines.' It's not a customer list. It's critical confidential patient information.”