Confidentiality/Patient Privacy

Williams v. Southeast Alabama Med. Ctr., No. 1:03CV1203FWO (M.D. Al. May 4, 2005)

A patient brought suit against a hospital and Emergency Department physician for violating his constitutional right to privacy, claiming that the physician showed the plaintiff's HIV-AIDs status to another person seated with the plaintiff in the Emergency Department. The Federal District Court for the Middle District of Alabama ruled that the hospital could not be held vicariously liable for the physician's conduct because he was not an employee or agent of the hospital and could not be held liable under a theory of corporate negligence because the plaintiff failed to allege or produce evidence that the hospital was negligent in contracting with the physician.