318 privacy breach victims could sue N.S. Health for compensation
'I'm looking for the truth to come out. I'd like the information that's being withheld to be given to me'
More than 300 Nova Scotians have had their medical records snooped on in the past 2½ years, according to Nova Scotia Health.
Meanwhile, a privacy breach victim from Hammonds Plains says a lawsuit could help her find answers in her case,
"I'm looking for the truth to come out," said Carley Kynock-Bytheway. "I'd like the information that's being withheld to be given to me."
Hundreds of Kynock-Bytheway's medical records were viewed by a medical transcriptionist working for Nova Scotia Health in 2018 and 2019.
Kynock-Bytheway later found the employee was dating her ex.
Capital Health has provided Kynock-Bytheway with copies of the compromised records.
But she has more questions and believes a class-action lawsuit could help her get answers.
"I'd like to know the location that my information was viewed from … I'd like to know who that information was shown to or shared with, and also by what means, by email or by text," she said. "I'd like to know why as well."
Kynock-Bytheway hasn't contacted a privacy lawyer because she said she is still dealing with the emotional turmoil caused by her case.
Lawsuits possible
In 2018, the Capital District Health Authority paid $400,000 to settle a claim by 105 patients whose records were improperly accessed by a single employee.
Chuck J. Ford, a litigator with Halifax firm Valent Legal, said the three recently publicized privacy breaches of patient records leave Nova Scotia Health open to more legal action.
He said damages for the tort of "intrusion upon seclusion" begin at roughly $1,000 per person for merely proving a privacy breach occurred.
But there is no cap on damages for breach of privacy, and Ford said a judge in Ontario awarded $100,000 to an individual who suffered a severe breach that required ongoing medical care as a result.
The three recent health breaches in Nova Scotia affected a total of 271 patients.
Ford said it's possible for a single patient who suffers a privacy breach to seek compensation from health officials.
He said those cases are often settled confidentially with the help of a lawyer.
Ford said larger class-action suits can appeal to plaintiffs who want to see future breaches prevented.
"One of the key issues in terms of advancing a class-action case is to have behaviour modification. And people don't want this to happen. No one is out there hoping to have a breach so they can get some money," he said.
Ford won't comment on the circumstances of the current privacy issues.
But he believes in general that administrators who make repeated breaches could see higher financial penalties from the courts.
"As this new area of law emerges, the institutions that fail to learn from prior mistakes will likely be treated differently than institutions who are dealing with mistakes in the first instance," he said.
No more major breaches to reveal
The director of privacy for Nova Scotia Health said the three breaches revealed this month are the only major snooping incidents that have occurred since the beginning of 2018.
Karen Hornberger said 27 smaller snooping incidents also took place during that time, affecting 47 more patients, or an average of roughly two patients per breach.
In early August, Nova Scotia Health announced breaches affecting 211 patients at Aberdeen Hospital in New Glasgow and Valley Regional in Kentville.
But the other breaches, including Kynock-Bytheway's incident that affected 59 other patients, were not made public.
Hornberger said the decision to publicize a privacy breach has to be made carefully.
"Generally speaking, we look at everything on a case-by-case basis to see if it warrants a public announcement or not. So we work with our communications team to make those decisions," she said.
Information over compensation
Hornberger said she could not comment on the possibility of lawsuits around recent privacy breaches.
Meanwhile, Carley Kynock-Bytheway said she hopes a public lawsuit would help her find out if anyone else knows her health details.
"I'm more concerned with who my private information was shared with than I am with financial compensation," she said.