Did a Family Member Access Your Medical Records Without Permission? Call Our Minneapolis Family Members Health Record Privacy Lawyer

Family relationships do not give anyone the right to access your protected health information. Despite this, family members are among the most common perpetrators of health record privacy violations in Minnesota. According to federal enforcement data, unauthorized access and impermissible disclosures of protected health information are consistently the top types of privacy complaints filed each year. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, and throughout Hennepin County, parents, siblings, in-laws, and extended family members frequently use healthcare connections to snoop on relatives’ medical records. A family members health record privacy lawyer can help you hold health care providers who allow family members access without your consent accountable.

Here at Kuhlman Law, our health record privacy lawyer Christopher Kuhlman understands the emotional complexity of pursuing a privacy claim against a family member who was granted access to your health records by a health care provider. Chris has represented Minnesota patients whose parents, stepparents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, or other relatives unlawfully accessed their medical records because of a health care provider’s unauthorized disclosure. Whether your family member works in healthcare and used their credentials to snoop, or they pressured a healthcare provider to release your information, the Minnesota Health Records Act may protect you and grant you certain rights to compensation. Contact us for a free consultation today.

Why Family Member Health Record Violations Happen

Family members access medical records without permission for many reasons. Some parents believe they have an ongoing right to access their adult child’s health information. Others may be involved in family disputes, custody battles, or inheritance disagreements where health information becomes a tool for manipulation or control. In a state like Minnesota with a large healthcare workforce, many families include members who work at hospitals, clinics, or insurance companies and have direct access to electronic health records systems – which means they can improperly access your health records.

How Family Members Health Record Privacy Lawyer Cases Arise in Minnesota

A family member health record privacy violation occurs whenever a relative accesses, obtains, or discloses your protected health information without your written consent. These cases arise in several common ways that our Minnesota health record privacy violation lawyer regularly handles. 

Some of the most common ways that family members improperly access protected health records includes the following: 

• A parent who works at a hospital or clinic uses their login credentials to check on an adult child’s medical records
• A sibling who works for a health insurance company looks up your claims history to learn about your medical conditions
• An in-law who works at your doctor’s office accesses your records during a family dispute or divorce
• A healthcare provider sends an email link to your healthcare portal to a shared account that you did not authorize
• A stepparent pressures a healthcare worker to disclose information about a stepchild’s treatment
• A grandparent contacts your doctor’s office and falsely claims to have authorization to receive your health information
• A cousin or aunt who works in medical records accesses your file out of curiosity or gossip
• An estranged family member obtains your records to use against you in a legal proceeding without proper authorization
• A healthcare provider calls you and a family member picks, and the healthcare provider providers protected health information without verifying the identity or authorization
• A medical provider leaves a voicemail about your test results on a shared line or voicemail when you did not authorize it, and
• Other situations where a healthcare provider granted access or a family member snooped and improperly obtained access to your health records and a Minneapolis family members health record privacy lawyer could help you.

Your Legal Rights When a Family Member Violates Your Health Record Privacy in Minneapolis

Under the Minnesota Health Records Act (MHRA), you have a private right of action against anyone who improperly accesses or causes the improper disclosure of your protected health information. This includes family members and the healthcare facilities that failed to prevent the unauthorized access. The MHRA requires healthcare providers to obtain your written, signed, and dated consent before releasing your medical records. No family relationship, no matter how close, excuses a provider from this requirement.

A family members health record privacy lawyer like Christopher Kuhlman can help you navigate these emotionally difficult cases. Chris understands that pursuing a claim against a health care provider because of a relative’s actions require sensitivity, but he also knows that your privacy rights deserve protection regardless of who violated them. The Minnesota Department of Health also provides oversight of health record privacy protections at the state level.

Types of Information Family Members Commonly Access Without Authorization

Family members who snoop on your health records may discover deeply personal information that you deliberately chose not to share with them. The types of sensitive health information that family members most commonly access without permission include the following:

• Mental health treatment records, including therapy notes and psychiatric medication prescriptions
• Reproductive health information such as pregnancy tests, abortion records, or fertility treatment details
• Substance abuse or addiction treatment records for alcohol, drugs, or prescription medications
• STD/STI and HIV test results and treatment records
• Genetic testing results that could reveal information about hereditary conditions
• Gender-affirming care records that the patient has not disclosed to family
• Suicide attempt and treatment records, and
• Other protected heath records that you purposely did not share with family members that health care providers disclose without your consent, permission or without authority under the law in Minnesota.

What Damages Can You Recover in a Family Members Health Record Privacy Case?

Victims of family member health record privacy violations in Minnesota may be entitled to several categories of damages under the MHRA. Your specific recovery will depend on the facts and circumstances of your case, but a family members health record privacy lawyer can help you pursue the maximum compensation available to you for compensatory damages and other fees.

Recoverable damages may include emotional distress and mental anguish (Smallwood v Dept of Human Services, A21-0001 [2001]), lost wages if the disclosure impacted your employment, costs of therapy to deal with the breach, and harm to your personal relationships and reputation. In certain situations, victims may also recover their attorney fees and court costs. Punitive damages may be available in cases involving particularly egregious or intentional misconduct. This is different than HIPAA, which does not provide a privacy right of action to victims.

Steps to Take If a Family Member Accessed Your Records in Minnesota

If you learn or suspect that a family member has improperly accessed your health records, take the following steps to protect your rights. First, stay calm and avoid confronting the family member directly. Confrontation may lead them to destroy evidence or involve others in a cover-up. Second, document everything, including any comments the family member made that suggest they have knowledge of your medical information. Third, contact an experienced health record privacy lawyer like Christopher Kuhlman at Kuhlman Law. Chris can help you request an accounting of disclosures and investigate the full scope of the breach against the healthcare provider who granted unauthorized access to your health records.

Contact Our Minneapolis Family Members Health Record Privacy Lawyer at Kuhlman Law Today

If a family member has illegally accessed your medical records, you deserve justice and compensation for the violation of your privacy rights. At Kuhlman Law, our family members health record privacy lawyer Christopher Kuhlman provides compassionate and aggressive representation to Minnesota patients whose relatives violated their health record privacy. We understand that these cases are emotionally difficult, and we treat every client with the sensitivity they deserve.

Chris offers free consultations and no out-of-pocket fees to begin your case. Contact us today or call (612) 444-3374 to speak with our Minneapolis health record privacy lawyer about your rights under the Minnesota Health Records Act.