Settlement Reached in South Florida Doctor's Internet Post
The Florida Board of Medicine approved a settlement with Miami Beach physician Michael J. Hall for allegedly posting personal health information of a patient on the crowd-sourced website Yelp.
December 09, 2019 at 10:56 AM
4 minute read
A South Florida physician will pay $10,000 as part of a settlement he reached with the state for allegedly posting details about a former patient on the internet and accusing her of doctor shopping and trying to fraudulently obtain opioids.
The Florida Board of Medicine on Friday approved the settlement with Miami Beach physician Michael J. Hall for allegedly posting personal health information of a patient, identified in documents by the initials C.B., on the crowd-sourced website Yelp.
Hall, who has been practicing for 18 years, did not acknowledge wrongdoing as part of the settlement. Also, he alleged that the patient threatened his life and his medical business, which he reported to the police.
According to an administrative complaint, Hall treated C.B. in June 2013 for opiate addiction and Suboxone maintenance. Hall gave C.B. a prescription for the medication Suboxone and told her to return to his office in a week for a physical exam, lab work and a drug screen.
C.B., who was a fire inspector, did not return for the follow-up visit, according to the complaint.
Two years later, Hall posted her name on Yelp and said she used her fire-inspector badge to "fraudulently obtain narcotics and has seen over 28 doctors in Florida for numerous prescriptions, pills and medical services."
C.B. appeared at the Board of Medicine meeting on Friday in Altamonte Springs and asked the board to reject the settlement that Hall reached with the state.
"It's not true. It's simply not true," she said of allegations in the administrative complaint.
She told the board members that the underlying cause of the dispute between her and Hall stemmed from medical bills.
"We are here today because I failed to pay my doctor bill of $1,300 in a timely fashion. That is why we are here today. There is no other reason," she said.
C.B. told board members that she lost her job as a fire inspector as a result of the post.
"What has happened to me because of his actions is absolutely criminal," she said, adding, "I didn't just lose my job, I lost my career as a fire inspector."
Florida law bans physicians from discussing a patient's medical information with anyone other than the patient, the patient's legal representative or another physician without the written authorization from the patient.
Mark A. Kamilar, Hall's attorney, tried to downplay the allegations against his client, telling the board that the information posted on Yelp was also included in a civil lawsuit C.B. had previously filed against the city of Daytona Beach.
Also, Kamilar said, C.B. allegedly threatened Hall's life. Worried, the physician reported the information to the Miami Beach Police Department.
Kamilar maintained that because the information was in a civil lawsuit and a police report, it was available to the public for review and therefore wasn't private.
Moreover, Kamilar told the board that "there is a public and private side on Yelp."
"Not everything you say on Yelp is a public posting," Kamilar said. "So it was unclear whether this was on the private side or the public side."
Additionally, Kamilar said it was also unclear how long the post was even on the site.
"There is some indication is was up there for less than two days," Kamilar told the board.
But the argument didn't sit well with board members.
"Even if it's private, it's a third party, which is a problem," board member Steven Rosenberg said.
Christine Sexton reports for the News Service of Florida.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllAmid Growing Litigation Volume, Don't Expect UnitedHealthcare to Change Its Stripes After CEO's Killing
6 minute readFreeman Mathis & Gary Taps Orlando for Third New Florida Office This Year
3 minute readFla.'s Statute of Limitations and Statutes of Repose in Med Mal Cases: It's Not Over Until It's Over
6 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Trailblazing Broward Judge Retires; Legacy Includes Bush v. Gore
- 2Federal Judge Named in Lawsuit Over Underage Drinking Party at His California Home
- 3'Almost an Arms Race': California Law Firms Scooped Up Lateral Talent by the Handful in 2024
- 4Pittsburgh Judge Rules Loan Company's Online Arbitration Agreement Unenforceable
- 5As a New Year Dawns, the Value of Florida’s Revised Mediation Laws Comes Into Greater Focus
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250