MacGlashan v. ABS Lincs KY, Inc. (Summary)

DEFAMATION

MacGlashan v. ABS Lincs KY, Inc., No. 5:13-CV-00135-TBR (W.D. Ky. Oct. 7, 2014)

The United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky denied a hospital’s motion for partial dismissal of a former nurse manager’s defamation claim. The hospital terminated the nurse for a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”). According to the hospital, the nurse took portions of a patient’s medical record home without authorization. After her termination, the nurse filed for unemployment benefits, which were denied when the hospital disputed the claim by stating that the nurse was terminated for violating HIPAA. The nurse sued the hospital claiming that she was wrongfully terminated and that the hospital defamed her.

The court denied the hospital’s motion, finding that the nurse manager sufficiently pled that the hospital used defamatory language when it stated that she violated HIPAA and that the defamatory statements were published to a third party when the hospital informed the Kentucky unemployment office of the violation. The court also concluded that the qualified privilege for defamatory statements related to the conduct of employees did not apply because the nurse sufficiently pled malice by claiming that the hospital’s statements were false and driven by retaliation.