Sharp HealthCare faces class action lawsuit allegations that it recorded 1,800 surgeries without patient consent.
According to plaintiff Amber Snodgrass, patients at the Sharp Grossmont Hospital Women’s Health Center in La Mesa, Calif. may have had their surgeries recorded from mid-2012 to mid-2013.
During this time, the hospital allegedly installed cameras into three of its operating rooms in order to investigate the disappearance of drugs.
However, these cameras reportedly resulted in the recording of around 1,800 surgeries. This included the recording of C-section deliveries, hysterectomies, pelvic floor repairs, and more, the Sharp HealthCare class action states.
“Defendants filmed patients’ genitalia and their medical procedures without their consent or any disclosure. Defendants’ conduct was outrageous and […] would be highly offensive to a reasonable person,” Snodgrass claims in the Sharp HealthCare class action lawsuit. “Absent consent, the filming of unconscious patients is a fundamental invasion of privacy.”
Shortly after the recording began in July 2012, the head of security at the hospital reportedly told the CEO that the video cameras would not provide enough evidence to confront the suspected thief who was thought to be a doctor. Despite this advice, the hospital allegedly did not stop their recordings.
Even after the recordings stopped in late June 2013, the hospital reportedly kept the videos “on computers accessible by multiple users, some without password protection.”
The Sharp Grossmont Hospital class action lawsuit claims that recording surgeries without consent is an invasion of privacy, violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), violation of California law, and it inflicted emotional distress on patients who were not aware that their private medical treatment would be recorded without their consent.
Snodgrass reportedly experienced the unlawful recording in December 2012 when she gave birth through C-section at the Women’s Health Center in Sharp Grossmont Hospital. Despite not giving consent, she was allegedly recorded by one of the hidden cameras in the operating room.
The California hospital has since apologized to the public through a statement, ensuring their patients that the cameras “were intended to record only individuals in front of the anesthesia carts.”
“We sincerely apologize that our efforts may have caused any distress to the women who were recorded, their families, and others we serve. We can assure you this surveillance method is no longer in use, and we have made changes in our protocols to ensure this situation is not repeated,” Sharp Grossmont Hospital said in a statement.
Snodgrass seeks to represent a Class of women who had surgery in the Women’s Health Center at Sharp Grossmont Hospital between July 17, 2012 and June 30, 2013.
The hospital recording class action lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, damages for pain and suffering, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.
The Sharp Grossmont patients are represented by Steve Berman, Kevin Green, Elizabeth Fegan, Shelby Smith and Whitney Siehl of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP.
The Sharp Grossmont Surgery Recording Class Action Lawsuit is Snodgrass v. Sharp HealthCare, et al., Case No. 3:19-cv-00702, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
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