Team I discovered six boxes of private medical records dumped in northern St. Louis. DaVita Dialysis said they were “lost” or “stolen”.
FLORISSANT, MO. – A popular Florissant dialysis clinic is the subject of a class action lawsuit after an I-Team report found the facility “lost” medical records for up to 60 patients.
In July, Team I found dozens of private medical records for DaVita dialysis patients dumped behind an abandoned building in northern St. Louis.
We have them at a DaVita Dialysis location at 10887 W. Florissant Ave. returned.
“It’s been 14 years of information, personal information,” said one patient we had informed about the violation. She had been treated in the facility for several years. Her medical history was one of the dozen we found abandoned.
“I feel like me [have] Now totally hurt, just open to whoever, ”the patient told us.
DaVita eventually admitted that some of its files had been “lost or stolen”.
Missouri Department of Health investigators initially took up the case. However, they declined to quote the facility about the abandoned files. An investigation into the violation by the federal government has not yet been completed.
Class action
“If these types of places are not adequately held accountable, we can make sure they get the slap on the wrist they deserve – to make sure our customers are compensated for what happened to them,” Alex said Wolff, attorney at Wolff Trial Lawyers in St. Louis.
Attorneys Maureen Brady and Wolff recently filed the class action lawsuit against DaVita on behalf of all 60 other patients whose medical records were dumped. In the lawsuit, they allege that individuals who have disclosed private medical information are approximately 9.5 times more likely to be identity fraud and / or identity theft than the general public.
“Unfortunately, it happens more often than you think,” said Brady, an attorney with McShane & Brady in Kansas City. “When someone’s identity is stolen, there are emergency gaps to improve that situation while on medical information [case] Once it’s gone, it’s gone. You can’t put it back. You can’t undo what you know. “
“Someone knows these records should go. Absolutely. Somebody knows. And for me, DaVita is that someone and they need to be held accountable for that, ”said one DaVita patient.
A statement from DaVita Kidney Care said: “While we are not currently discussing the pending litigation, as a healthcare company we take the protection and security of patient information very seriously.”
If you received a letter from DaVita Dialysis last fall stating that your records were lost or stolen, you can join this class action lawsuit. Contact lawyers Alex Wolff or Maureen Brady:
[email protected], 314-584-4105
[email protected], 816-888-8010
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