Nurse Files $45M 'Virgin' Lawsuit Against NYU Hospital
Accusing the hospital of failing to protect her medical records, former employee and pediatric nurse Kristen Haight has filed a $45 million 'virgin' lawsuit against NYU Langone Medical Center.
The lawsuit claims that, after being diagnosed with and receiving treatment for endometriosis, doctors, nurses and administrative staff accessed Haight's medical files, harassing her about her sex life and calling her a 41-year-old virgin in honor of the film.
The media has yet to confirm the appropriateness of the nickname.
Regardless, her colleagues' alleged behavior was anything but appropriate.
The 'virgin' lawsuit alleges that co-workers encouraged Haight to have sex, and neurosurgeon Dr. Jeffrey Wisoff quoted the movie, telling her that sex was "like petting something furry for the first time," reports the New York Post.
The floor secretaries even urged Kristen Haight to get "a bun in her oven."
Presumably, Haight's medical records included information about her sexual history, leading to the jokes.
Knowing this, and wishing to keep treatment private, the Post reports that Haight had asked the hospital to limit access to her medical records.
This, of course, did not happen.
Not only do the allegations contained in the 'virgin' lawsuit support a finding of workplace sexual harassment, they support a violation of HIPAA laws, which are designed to protect patient privacy.
Employees in medical offices and hospitals are not permitted to access records without a valid reason, and they certainly aren't allowed to discuss their contents for non-treatment purposes.
NYU Langone Medical Center should have sealed all medical records belonging to Kristen Haight, only providing access to her caregivers. After tolerating the subsequent harassment, it's not difficult to see why she filed the 'virgin' lawsuit.
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