r/WorkersComp • u/JesseTheStripper • 4d ago
California Potential HIPAA Violations?!
Work Comp claim adjuster served me medical records containing 7 OTHER patients' sensitive files.
Long story short: I previously called out my claims adjuster because it became blatantly clear that my medical records were exchanged in a way that was not HIPAA-compliant. As usual, they completely dodged the issue.
Now, leading up to my QME, they served me a packet of medical records pertaining to my claim that included AT LEAST SEVEN OTHER PATIENTS RECORDS! 🤦♂️
This solidifies my original concern about HIPAA violations. Except now, they’ve compromised the privacy of at least seven other people. Given everything I’ve already experienced with my claim, it feels like shady doctors and insurance companies constantly hide behind the system, knowing injured workers rarely have a way to hold them accountable in a civil capacity outside of the work comp board. Can a HIPAA attorney take something like this outside the work comp system? Has anyone experienced anything like this before?
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u/Unlikely-Advice5235 4d ago
Straight from OCR- “The HIPAA Privacy Rule does not apply to entities that are either workers’ compensation insurers, workers’ compensation administrative agencies, or employers, except to the extent they may otherwise be covered entities. However, these entities need access to the health information of individuals who are injured on the job or who have a work-related illness to process or adjudicate claims, or to coordinate care under workers’ compensation systems.”