The decision had already been made to terminate the nurse before she met with her manager.  She was never given the chance to tell her side of the story, which tends to support her claim of a ulterior motive for her firing. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT TENNESSEE February 21, 2018

  An emergency department nurse was approached by the sister of another nurse’s patient who asked for information about the patient’s status.  The nurse looked up the patient’s chart on the computer and gave the sister a verbal update on the patient’s condition.  After going home the patient phoned the hospital to complain she never gave anyone permission to divulge her medical status.  The nurse was terminated for violation of the US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).   The nurse sued the hospital, claiming that her age and her frequent use of Family and Medical Leave Act leave were the real reasons she was fired.  

  The US District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee agreed with the hospital that the nurse committed a technical breach of medical confidentiality by disclosing information about the patient to an outside party without written consent.  However, the nurse insisted that the patient and the patient’s son gave her verbal permission to access her chart and to update the sister about her medical status.