Suing for HIPAA Violation in Small Claims Court
Have you ever felt concerned that your medical records could end up being compromised without your consent? It can certainly happen at any time, especially when a cyber breach occurs.
Other times, it could be someone willingly violating your privacy to gain medical information about you. This, and all breaches of your medical records, are true .
What should you do to fight back against a HIPAA breach? Take a look at how you can sue the violators in small claims court using DoNotPay.
Reasons to File a Lawsuit Against Your HIPAA Violators
Considering HIPAA is a federal law that protects your sensitive health information from being disclosed without your consent or knowledge, any violation seems like breaking a federal law. Unfortunately, you can't sue for private cause of action as a patient. You can still sue at state level based on negligence or breach of implied contract in a medical facility.
A few very good reasons to sue the HIPAA violator in small claims court include:
| Sue Your HIPAA Violator for Health Insurance Issues | A breach of your medical records might show you have a preexisting condition that prevents you from getting the health insurance you need. A situation like this could affect your medical coverage for years to come. HIPAA is designed to protect against such things if you've changed or lost your job. |
| Sue Your HIPAA Violator for ID Theft | Just like all data breaches, having your personal medical information out in the open leaves you vulnerable to thieves stealing your identity. ID theft is still a continuing threat to everyone and something potentially altering your life immeasurably. |
| Sue Your HIPAA Violator for Financial Harm | You could lose a lot of money having your medical records released without your consent. It could even make you lose a job based on ID theft or leaked medical information. Substantial financial losses are grounds to sue for lost wages and other financial issues. |
File a Lawsuit Against the HIPAA Violators Yourself
It's possible to file a civil lawsuit on your own against those who violated your HIPAA rights. Just remember you can't file a federal lawsuit directly against a medical institution for compensation. Only at the state level can you sue for money if a harmful violation of your medical privacy or history occurred.
To start the legal process, you need to:
- File a complaint first with the federal Office for Civil Rights. You can also file a complaint with your state attorney general's office if they have authority to pursue HIPAA violation cases.
- OCR reviews the complaint and only takes action if a business or worker violated your rights and the complaint was made within 180 days.
- If the OCR finds the defendant guilty, they will need to:
- Comply with HIPPA
- Make amends
- Agree to settle
It's possible to file a complaint or petition to your state court using online forms. Most state courts have claim forms available on their websites. Still, it's often a perilous path taking on a legal matter like this alone without extensive legal knowledge.
Dangers & Issues with Filing a Lawsuit by Yourself
Filing a lawsuit on your own in state court is sometimes a complex endeavor, potentially placing your case in jeopardy if you don't know what you're doing. Things can turn even more challenging if the company you're suing for the HIPAA violation challenges your lawsuit. In the case of a challenge, you're probably better off getting expert legal help.
However, when filing a case in small claims court, you may not need a lawyer to get it done properly. DoNotPay is available to help make this process easier than ever.
How to Sue Your HIPAA Violators With DoNotPay
At DoNotPay, you have the very first lawyer that's entirely operated by artificial intelligence. That's right, it's a robot lawyer you can work directly with through an app on your mobile device.
You can complete just about any legal task using DoNotPay, including filing lawsuits and complaints. You'll still get the same expert legal help you'd get paying for a real lawyer without massive legal fees afterward
- Log in to and click on the Sue Now product.
- Simply enter a dollar amount of what you think you're owed in the lawsuit.
- You can select whether you want to send a demand letter to the HIPAA violator or file court forms.
- To get your lawsuit underway, you can describe your reason for the lawsuit and send any other applicable details. Our template allows you to send photo proof to give more legitimacy to your claims.
That's it! DoNotPay will then generate a demand letter or court filing forms for you. We'll even mail a copy of your demand letter to the individual or business you are suing!
Check Out Everything You Can Do With DoNotPay
To learn more about this revolutionary way to take small claims legal matters into your own hands, visit our resource library. We can help you take on the following companies:
- ATT
- Verizon
- Uber
- Airlines
- Insurance companies
- And more!
You can also do this on DoNotPay:
- Appeal banned accounts
- Get compensation from airlines
- Appeal parking tickets in any city
- Generate burner phone numbers
- Cancel any subscriptions or services