Jason Pierre-Paul suing ESPN, writer for tweeting medical records
New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is suing ESPN and reporter Adam Schefter for posting his medical records on Twitter after Pierre-Paul lost parts of two fingers last summer in a fireworks accident.
According to the New York Post, Pierre-Paulis citing a violation of privacy in the suit, which was filed on Wednesday in a Florida court.
“This action arises out of ESPN reporter Schefter’s blatant disregard for the private and confidential nature of plaintiff’s medical records, all so Schefter could show the world that he had ‘supporting proof’ of a surgical procedure,” the suit reads.
Although HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) laws do not apply to the media, Pierre-Paul clearly believes that the post to Schefter’s Twitter account and his more than four million followers was egregious.
HIPAA does, however, apply to hospital employees and protects the rights of patients for privacy of personal medical information. Jackson Memorial Hospital, which treated JPP’s hand injury after the accident, launched an internal investigation last July to determine the source of the leak to Schefter. Two hospital employees were fired earlier this month in the case.
Later, Schefter defended his reporting tactics but lamented to Sports Illustrated that he “could and should have done even more” to protect Pierre-Paul “due to the sensitivity of the situation.” ESPN had no comment, according to the Post story.
Pierre-Paul, 27, missed eight games this past because of the injury and collected only one sack in the second half of the season. He’s currently a free agent, and new Giants head coach Ben McAdoo said the team has kept in contact with Pierre-Paul and that he had more work done on his hand after the season.
“I’ve spoken to Jason a couple different times so far throughout the offseason,” McAdoo said. “He seems in good spirits. We went through a procedure [on his hand] and we’ll have to see how that goes.”
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
