Medical Privacy and Being Discussed Openly in a Doctor's Office

Q: Can a patient sue a healthcare provider directly under HIPAA?

Generally, no; HIPAA does not create a private right to sue, but a patient can file an administrative complaint with the HHS Office for Civil Rights.

Q: How long does someone have to file a HIPAA complaint?

Generally, complaints must be filed within 180 days of when the person knew or should have known of the violation, unless a waiver is granted for good cause.

Q: Can a patient sue for emotional distress if medical information was shared inappropriately?

In many states, a separate claim such as public disclosure of private facts or intentional infliction of emotional distress may be possible; an attorney can assess viability under applicable state law.

Question

Being referred to as a rectum patient in a doctors office the nurse said it in the hallway

So long story short, I went to the doctors office to being seen for ongoing condition. I figured what was going on. The doctor confirmed that it was internal hemorrhoids and left the room at 10. I sat there till 10:50, when I walked out of the room to figure out what was going on. When the nurse saw me she laughed and said she forgot. When she went to ask the doctor, she referred to me as the rectum man. She said this in the hallway where others can hear. I also have it on video.

A. Jason Velez · Accepted Answer

You cannot sue the nurse or the practice directly under HIPAA — it creates no private right to sue — but you can and should file an administrative complaint with the HHS Office for Civil Rights, and that complaint must be filed within 180 days of the incident.

Under 45 C.F.R. § 160.306, HIPAA complaints are filed with HHS, handled through the Office for Civil Rights, and generally must be submitted within 180 days of when you knew or should have known of the alleged violation, unless HHS waives the deadline for good cause. Because HIPAA provides no private right of action, this administrative complaint is the direct federal enforcement route available here.

If you're seeking money damages rather than an administrative finding, that would instead have to rest on South Carolina common-law tort theories, such as public disclosure of private facts or intentional infliction of emotional distress. No specific South Carolina statute confidently covers this fact pattern, so this is a general possibility rather than a settled claim, and a local attorney would need to assess viability, including South Carolina's own separate filing deadlines, which differ from the HIPAA deadline above.

What you can do:

1. Preserve the video, along with the names of any witnesses and the date and time of the incident.

2. File an internal complaint with the medical practice describing what was said and who could hear it.

3. File the OCR complaint promptly, well within the 180-day window.

4. Consult a local South Carolina attorney about whether a common-law tort claim is viable and what its own deadlines would be.

⏱ Time limits apply. The HIPAA complaint to HHS OCR must be filed within 180 days of the incident under 45 C.F.R. § 160.306, and any separate South Carolina tort claim carries its own deadline — an individual case review by a local attorney should happen promptly to confirm both.

Medical Privacy and Being Discussed Openly in a Doctor's Office

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