HIPAA is a federal law designed to protect sensitive medical information and prevent unauthorized disclosure. As pixel tracking and other digital tools become more common, they introduce new privacy risks that challenge the boundaries of HIPAA compliance.
How Can a HIPAA Violation Attorney Help You?
Improperly disclosed medical information can create serious risks. Revealing private health details—such as an HIV status or a pregnancy—can lead to discrimination, safety concerns, or personal harm. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was passed to protect sensitive health records and secure patient privacy.
That protection now faces new threats. The Office for Civil Rights has warned that third-party tracking vendors like Google and Meta/Facebook are collecting private medical data through pixel-tracking technologies embedded in websites. Hospitals, clinics, and other regulated entities violate HIPAA when they allow these technologies to capture and share patient information without consent.
These modern privacy violations often go unnoticed until they cause actual harm. When they do, filing a class action HIPAA violation lawsuit can hold healthcare providers accountable. Legal action can also reveal broader failures in data protection and help affected individuals recover compensation.
Joe Lyon of The Lyon Firm brings extensive experience in litigating complex data privacy cases. His work has helped clients across the country pursue justice in cases involving digital tracking, data breaches, and unauthorized disclosures of protected health information.
Call (513) 381-2333 or contact us online to speak with a trusted HIPAA violation lawyer and learn how to protect your medical and digital privacy.
Key HIPAA Terms You Should Know
Understanding key terms is essential when evaluating a potential HIPAA violation lawsuit. The following acronyms frequently appear in medical privacy cases and digital data breach investigations:
- HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996). A federal law that protects sensitive patient health information from unauthorized disclosure. HIPAA sets the standards for how healthcare providers, insurers, and other covered entities must handle private medical data.
- HHS (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). The federal agency responsible for overseeing HIPAA enforcement and national public health efforts.
- OCR (Office for Civil Rights). A division within HHS that enforces HIPAA regulations and investigates complaints about unauthorized access to medical records and other violations of patient privacy.
- PHI (Protected Health Information). Medical information linked to an individual, such as diagnoses, treatments, medical history, and payment details. HIPAA provides strict protections for PHI.
- PII (Personally Identifiable Information). Sensitive data such as Social Security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, and financial account details that can be used to identify or impersonate an individual.
Who Is Required to Follow HIPAA Regulations?
HIPAA imposes strict rules on how private health information can be accessed, used, and shared. These regulations apply to a broad range of entities that handle patient data in the course of providing care, managing insurance, or administering health plans. Understanding which parties fall under HIPAA’s authority can help identify when a HIPAA violation lawyer may need to get involved.
HIPAA applies to “covered entities,” all of which must follow detailed privacy, security, and disclosure rules. These include:
- Healthcare providers, such as doctors, hospitals, clinics, dentists, chiropractors, nursing homes, and pharmacies;
- Health insurance companies and HMOs;
- Health plans sponsored by employers or unions;
- Health clearinghouses, which process nonstandard health information; and
- Business associates and contractors who work with any of the above to manage or transmit protected health information.
Each entity must protect personal health information (PHI), obtain proper patient consent, and prevent unauthorized disclosure.
ABOUT THE LYON FIRM
Joseph Lyon has 17 years of experience representing individuals in complex litigation matters. He has represented individuals in every state against many of the largest companies in the world.
The Firm focuses on single-event civil cases and class actions involving corporate neglect & fraud, toxic exposure, product defects & recalls, medical malpractice, and invasion of privacy.
NO COST UNLESS WE WIN
The Firm offers contingency fees, advancing all costs of the litigation, and accepting the full financial risk, allowing our clients full access to the legal system while reducing the financial stress while they focus on their healthcare and financial needs.
Are There Circumstances When Disclosure is Allowed?
HIPAA does permit covered entities to share certain health information under specific conditions, such as when:
- The patient submits a formal request for their own records;
- Law enforcement agencies need information as part of an official investigation; or
- Information is necessary for treatment, billing, or coordination of care.
Any improper disclosure that falls outside HIPAA’s limited exceptions can open the door to regulatory action or civil claims.
Can Employers Access Employee Medical Records?
Employers do not have unrestricted access to employee health information. Many HIPAA violation lawsuits arise when employers overstep their legal boundaries, especially after a workplace injury or during disputes related to medical leave. Unless the employee gives written consent or a valid legal exception applies, this type of access violates federal law.
How Do Pixel Tracking Tools Violate HIPAA?
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued public warnings about the risks posed by digital tracking tools on healthcare websites. These tools, including meta-pixel and other third-party technologies, may silently collect patient data, raising major HIPAA concerns.
Pixel tracking helps companies like Google and Meta gather information about user interaction with websites. They monitor which pages people visit, what ads they click on, and even what purchases they make. When embedded on healthcare sites, these trackers can also collect health-related data, including sensitive information about symptoms, treatments, appointment scheduling, and prescriptions.
Healthcare providers have a legal obligation under HIPAA to keep this data secure and private. Clinics or hospitals that allow third-party trackers to access user data without patient consent may violate HIPAA’s strict privacy standards.
Modern websites often rely on tools like cookies, tracking pixels, web beacons, fingerprinting scripts, and session replay scripts to enhance functionality or marketing. These technologies didn’t exist when HIPAA became law in 1996, but patient protections have not changed. Attorneys for HIPAA violations now argue that using these tools without proper safeguards puts patients at risk and opens providers to legal liability.
Healthcare organizations must protect all personal health information (PHI) from unauthorized access, whether that access comes from inside the clinic or through a hidden script on a website.
If you know or suspect your HIPAA rights have been violated, contact a HIPAA violation attorney. Acting quickly supports the security of your personal health data and reduces the risk of additional misuse. Your action may also alert others who remain unaware their personal information has been compromised.
The Lyon Firm actively investigates digital privacy breaches and HIPAA violations on behalf of individuals nationwide—call (513) 381-2333 to start a confidential conversation.
5 Common Ways Your HIPAA Rights May Be Violated
Even with explicit federal protections, HIPAA violations continue to happen at healthcare facilities, insurance companies, and digital platforms. The following are among the most frequent violations that put patient privacy and data security at risk.
1. Failing to Perform Risk Analysis or Implement Risk Management
A thorough risk analysis is the foundation of HIPAA compliance. Without it, healthcare providers cannot identify security gaps that leave patient data exposed. Personal health data remains a top target for cyberattacks, and any delay in securing it increases the chances of theft. Skipping or delaying this process is a major HIPAA violation that can lead to large-scale data breaches.
2. No HIPAA-Compliant Vendor Agreements or Lack of Encryption
Healthcare entities must vet third-party vendors and enter HIPAA-compliant agreements to ensure all parties meet privacy standards. Just like onboarding a new employee, providers must hold vendors to the same privacy expectations. Failing to do so is one of the most common HIPAA violations.
Encryption, though not mandatory, is widely used to protect transmitted health information. Without encryption, sensitive data becomes vulnerable to interception—leading to privacy breaches and potential legal exposure.
3. Delayed Notification After a Security Breach
Under the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule, healthcare providers must notify patients of a breach within 60 days of discovery. Delays create a critical window where stolen data may be exploited. Failure to meet this deadline can result in regulatory penalties and increase the severity of a HIPAA violation lawsuit.
4. Improper Disclosures or Mishandling of PHI
Disclosing protected health information (PHI) without proper authorization violates HIPAA’s Privacy Rule. Common violations include giving PHI to an employer without consent or carelessly leaving data vulnerable after a device is lost or stolen. HIPAA also requires that expired records be properly destroyed—shredded, wiped, or otherwise rendered unreadable.
5. Denying Patients Access to Their Health Records
Patients have a legal right to access their medical records. When providers deny access or fail to deliver records within 30 days, they directly violate HIPAA. This often happens unintentionally within large systems, but it still puts providers at risk of regulatory scrutiny or legal claims.
These violations occur frequently because they’re easy to overlook amid the demands of patient care. More egregious breaches, including criminal data theft, can result in both civil liability and criminal penalties. Victims of stolen health data may pursue separate claims for compensation with the help of a HIPAA violation attorney, even while criminal cases proceed in parallel.
How Can a HIPAA Violation Lawsuit Help Me?
A HIPAA violation lawsuit allows patients to demand accountability and seek compensation when their medical privacy has been breached. Whether the violation was careless or deliberate, the damage can be substantial—and legal action may restore privacy and prevent future risks.
Through a HIPAA violation lawsuit, you may be able to:
- Recover money and time lost due to identity theft or fraud,
- Obtain a court order to stop the unlawful sharing of your personal health information,
- Access medical records that have been wrongfully withheld,
- Hold negligent or malicious parties accountable for their actions, and
- Push the healthcare industry to strengthen data privacy practices.
When privacy breaches affect a large group of individuals, patients can join a HIPAA class action lawsuit. These cases allow victims to share legal costs, pursue broader justice, and pressure healthcare providers to implement stronger data protection policies.
If your personal health information was exposed or misused, a HIPAA attorney can help you pursue compensation and protect your rights going forward.
“People trust their doctors and hospitals with the most private parts of their lives. When that data gets shared without consent, it’s not a technical error—it’s a violation. We confront the systems that failed and make sure it doesn’t happen to the next patient.”
Joe Lyon,
Founding Partner of the Lyon Firm
What Are the Largest Digital HIPAA Lawsuit Settlements?
When healthcare providers and insurers fail to protect sensitive patient data, the legal and financial consequences can be massive. Several high-profile HIPAA violation lawsuits have resulted in significant HIPAA lawsuit settlements and penalties.
- $115 Million—Anthem, Inc. Anthem reached a class action settlement after cyberattacks compromised the data of nearly 79 million Americans. In addition to the consumer payout, the company paid $16 million in fines to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) for failing to implement adequate cybersecurity measures.
- $5.55 Million—Advocate Health Care. Advocate was penalized after two data breaches in three months, exposing the records of approximately 4 million patients. One breach involved stolen computers from an office and another from an employee’s unlocked vehicle.
- $5.5 Million—Memorial Healthcare System. This South Florida healthcare group faced penalties after employees unlawfully accessed and sold the PHI of more than 115,000 patients. The organization failed to limit login access and monitor internal activity, and criminal charges were filed against those involved.
- $4.8 Million—New York Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center. The PHI of about 6,800 patients was made publicly available online due to poor data controls. Sensitive information was indexed by search engines, violating HIPAA security requirements.
- $4.3 Million—Cignet Health. Cignet denied 41 patients access to their own records without justification, violating HIPAA’s access rules. The company also failed to cooperate with federal investigators, leading to additional penalties and marking the first-ever civil money penalty issued by HHS.
Why These Settlements Matter
A digital HIPAA violation can lead to financial loss, identity theft, unauthorized treatments, and lasting personal harm. In addition to civil damages, violators may face multi-million dollar fines and up to 10 years in prison. These cases demonstrate how seriously courts take HIPAA violations when providers ignore privacy obligations or mishandle patient data at scale.
Contact The Lyon Firm About HIPAA Privacy Violations
Doctors, nurses, clinics, and hospitals must comply with HIPAA rules that prohibit unauthorized disclosures of private health data. This includes information improperly shared through digital tracking technologies used on healthcare websites. Despite these rules, healthcare data continues to be exposed through both online and offline breaches.
HIPAA violations also happen in more traditional settings, such as when a provider denies access to medical records or carelessly discloses protected information. In many cases, legal intervention becomes the only way to stop harmful practices and uncover broader patterns of noncompliance.
Attorney Joseph Lyon has decades of experience representing individuals in complex privacy and data security litigation. He has led class actions and individual cases nationwide, challenging some of the largest companies and healthcare providers who failed to protect private medical information.
The Lyon Firm accepts HIPAA violation cases nationwide. We offer contingency fee agreements, so clients pay no legal fees unless we achieve a successful result.
To learn more or begin a confidential consultation, call (513) 381-2333 or contact us online. Taking steps to hold providers accountable can protect your personal information and strengthen privacy protections for others.
Learn About the Legal Process
Filing Class Action lawsuits is a complex and serious legal course and can carry monetary sanctions if proper legal course is not followed. The Lyon Firm is dedicated to assisting injured plaintiffs work toward a financial solution to assist in compensating for medical expenses or other damages sustained.
We work with law firms across the country to provide the most resources possible and to build your case into a valuable settlement. The current legal environment is favorable for consumers involved in data breach class actions, deceptive marketing lawsuits, TCPA telemarketing claims, and financial negligence claims.
