broken_heart
New Member
Hi
I'm deaf. I was assulted and injured, but not very badly. I did not (and do not) want to report the person who did it because it's too much right now to handle emotionally. I rather deal w them "getting away" than the emotional toll it will be to report them and go through all of that.
The worst injury, besides brusing, was my neck. It felt like i had severe whiplash and I could not move it without severe pain. Thankfully it has healed well and quickly.
after it happened, my neck hurt really bad. I called the hospital ER (via tty-like system) and spoke with charge nurse named "J". J assured me I could get care w/o having to report who did caused the injury. When I got to the hospital they wrote their communication to me since I am deaf (but I can speak). When I got there, a different nurse told me they would not treat unless I told them who did it. She wrote it several times.... I walked out. I only made it to the bench outside of the hospital (I was hurting really bad) where I texted a friend to ask if they could come pick me up. About that time, the police arrived.
Both police and hospital records indicate nurse J called the police were called as soon as had arrived and told triage nurse I was injured but would not indicate who.
The officer arrived just as I was trying to leave. Officer came up to me w/ nurse J. They asked who hurt me. I refused to tell them. They asked if I wanted treatment - so I told them, "no, because they requiring me to tell them who hurt me before they will treat me." In fact, the hospital staff had written, it is "required we know who so we can properly treat you." The officer asked if the staff wrote this - who denied it until I showed them the paper they had written that on to the officer. The hospital nurse and officer both indicated I could get care without reporting who, and they convinced me to go back inside.
I went back into the room and waited for the doctor to see me.
While I was waiting - this is what apparently happened, according to hospital and police records:
The officer put in her report that she deemed me an "at risk adult" since I am deaf. Deeming me "at risk" means I'm more likely to be abused and thus means they have greater responsibility to find out what happened. So officer asked the hospital nurse if i had any emergency contact listed. The hospital records confirm I said I have no emergency contact when I came in that night, and the officer wrote in his report that they then called records and asked if i had ever been seen before, and if any emergency contact had ever been listed. I had been seen once at the hospital a year prior, and a family member was listed as the emergency contact. The hospital gave the officer the phone number of that family member. The officer called this family member. The family member told the officer many things about me, most of which are not true. The family member claims I have medical and psychiatric diagnosis I don't have, and said other negative things about me attacking my credibility and character.
The officer then told this information to the hospital. The hospital then told this to the doctor.
When the doctor came in to see me, he treated me... awfully... he said we know you are... and told me what my family member told them(things like like "psychotic" and "pathological liar who males up assualts and rapes") I said i've never been that or donre any such thing - i've never even reported or claimed anyone has ever hurt me at all before, let alone make up rapes!!! (i haven't!!!) but the dr didn't believe me... i started crying, i asked we focus on the medical issue i was there for that night, and the doctor wrote she wanted to do a cat scan. i asked why a cat scan as opposed to an x-ray. while the doctor wrote her response, i received a text back from my friend who was going to come stay w me while in ER and help me get home later - and i texted them back. the doctor grabbed the phone out of my hand.
she threw away what she had been writing and wrote "texting is rude. i will not give you your phone back." (i agree it is usually very rude, but i told the doctor it was a friend who was on the way to er)
she wrote "do you want the cat scan?"
i asked, "why the ct scan and not an x-ray? i'd like to make informed decision... please give me my phone back..."
she wrote "if you do not want the ct scan, then we can't help you." she then went on writing about how rude it was i texted... i'm there crying, in a neck brace, unable to move one arm...
the doctor left the room and I walked out of the hospital - my friend took me to another where I received prompt polite extensive care - and they never contacted police even though i said the same thing: some injured me, i don't want to say who...
i have since obtained the police and hospital records and found out the full information the family member told them.
this family member happens to be a nurse at a large medical facility where I have been seen in the past.
i went to the facility where they work and told them i was concerned about this family member getting into my medical record or interfering with care. she works in a different clinic than where i had been seen within the medical facility. they confirmed she had not accessed my records - it's all electronic, protected by passwords all the emplyee have to use and is logged by the computer system, and there was no log indicating she ever opened my chart.
however, this family member, did claim medical information about me that was false and ironically is proven to be false by their own medical records...
the hospital and police claim HIPAA allows the hospital to provide info to the police upon request. they claim the hospital did not provide my health information to my family, the officer did. the hospital only gave it to the police. the police say they were right to "look back" into the record to find if any emergency contact had been listed in the past because I was "at risk" - and they were trying to find a "caregiver" who knew who injured me. and that being the reason they contacted family and told them my injury and where I was - without telling me...? all, as the officer wrote, to find out the name of who attacked me?
what kind of officer responds to someone in to a hospital, who says they don't want to report the name of someone who assulted them, refuses to give an emergency contact, deceides it is best to contact a family member who is no longer listed as an emergency contact (and apparently doesn't consider they are no longer listed for a good reason?!) and contacts them and then takes whatever they say as gospel truth? that just doesn't seem right that it never crossed their mind that the very perosn they contacted could have been the attacker i didn't want to report - and thus wasn't listing as an emergency contact!
my injuries have healed. well, the physical ones caused by the attacker.
this family member keeps claiming I have various medical and mental diagnosis i don't have to various people in my extended family - and it's tearing my family apart.
the family member didn't access my chart, and didn't technically give info from the medical record - but did my family member break hipaa by releasing any diagnosis about me to other family members?
the hospital passed on the "diagosis" of "psychotic" and "pathological liar" to the medical facility wher the family member works at...
____________________________________________
this seems like malpractice by the hospital - but there are no real damages as i got care elsewhere.
the problem is the info being on file and trying to deal w that and trying to get it off records and not passed on to others and stopping the family member any way i can - or holding them legalyy accountable in any way i can...
this seems like a violation of my right to privacy somewhere in all of these events - by the family member?
is the family member responsible for malpractice, for being a licensed nurse who shared false information? even though they were acting as a family member, and not my health care provider - does the fact they are also a healthcare provider, mean they are more liable for their slander and false "diagnosing" of me?
The family member happens to be linked to the person who abused me, and was aware something went wrong - but not that I had been attacked.
I'm deaf. I was assulted and injured, but not very badly. I did not (and do not) want to report the person who did it because it's too much right now to handle emotionally. I rather deal w them "getting away" than the emotional toll it will be to report them and go through all of that.
The worst injury, besides brusing, was my neck. It felt like i had severe whiplash and I could not move it without severe pain. Thankfully it has healed well and quickly.
after it happened, my neck hurt really bad. I called the hospital ER (via tty-like system) and spoke with charge nurse named "J". J assured me I could get care w/o having to report who did caused the injury. When I got to the hospital they wrote their communication to me since I am deaf (but I can speak). When I got there, a different nurse told me they would not treat unless I told them who did it. She wrote it several times.... I walked out. I only made it to the bench outside of the hospital (I was hurting really bad) where I texted a friend to ask if they could come pick me up. About that time, the police arrived.
Both police and hospital records indicate nurse J called the police were called as soon as had arrived and told triage nurse I was injured but would not indicate who.
The officer arrived just as I was trying to leave. Officer came up to me w/ nurse J. They asked who hurt me. I refused to tell them. They asked if I wanted treatment - so I told them, "no, because they requiring me to tell them who hurt me before they will treat me." In fact, the hospital staff had written, it is "required we know who so we can properly treat you." The officer asked if the staff wrote this - who denied it until I showed them the paper they had written that on to the officer. The hospital nurse and officer both indicated I could get care without reporting who, and they convinced me to go back inside.
I went back into the room and waited for the doctor to see me.
While I was waiting - this is what apparently happened, according to hospital and police records:
The officer put in her report that she deemed me an "at risk adult" since I am deaf. Deeming me "at risk" means I'm more likely to be abused and thus means they have greater responsibility to find out what happened. So officer asked the hospital nurse if i had any emergency contact listed. The hospital records confirm I said I have no emergency contact when I came in that night, and the officer wrote in his report that they then called records and asked if i had ever been seen before, and if any emergency contact had ever been listed. I had been seen once at the hospital a year prior, and a family member was listed as the emergency contact. The hospital gave the officer the phone number of that family member. The officer called this family member. The family member told the officer many things about me, most of which are not true. The family member claims I have medical and psychiatric diagnosis I don't have, and said other negative things about me attacking my credibility and character.
The officer then told this information to the hospital. The hospital then told this to the doctor.
When the doctor came in to see me, he treated me... awfully... he said we know you are... and told me what my family member told them(things like like "psychotic" and "pathological liar who males up assualts and rapes") I said i've never been that or donre any such thing - i've never even reported or claimed anyone has ever hurt me at all before, let alone make up rapes!!! (i haven't!!!) but the dr didn't believe me... i started crying, i asked we focus on the medical issue i was there for that night, and the doctor wrote she wanted to do a cat scan. i asked why a cat scan as opposed to an x-ray. while the doctor wrote her response, i received a text back from my friend who was going to come stay w me while in ER and help me get home later - and i texted them back. the doctor grabbed the phone out of my hand.
she threw away what she had been writing and wrote "texting is rude. i will not give you your phone back." (i agree it is usually very rude, but i told the doctor it was a friend who was on the way to er)
she wrote "do you want the cat scan?"
i asked, "why the ct scan and not an x-ray? i'd like to make informed decision... please give me my phone back..."
she wrote "if you do not want the ct scan, then we can't help you." she then went on writing about how rude it was i texted... i'm there crying, in a neck brace, unable to move one arm...
the doctor left the room and I walked out of the hospital - my friend took me to another where I received prompt polite extensive care - and they never contacted police even though i said the same thing: some injured me, i don't want to say who...
i have since obtained the police and hospital records and found out the full information the family member told them.
this family member happens to be a nurse at a large medical facility where I have been seen in the past.
i went to the facility where they work and told them i was concerned about this family member getting into my medical record or interfering with care. she works in a different clinic than where i had been seen within the medical facility. they confirmed she had not accessed my records - it's all electronic, protected by passwords all the emplyee have to use and is logged by the computer system, and there was no log indicating she ever opened my chart.
however, this family member, did claim medical information about me that was false and ironically is proven to be false by their own medical records...
the hospital and police claim HIPAA allows the hospital to provide info to the police upon request. they claim the hospital did not provide my health information to my family, the officer did. the hospital only gave it to the police. the police say they were right to "look back" into the record to find if any emergency contact had been listed in the past because I was "at risk" - and they were trying to find a "caregiver" who knew who injured me. and that being the reason they contacted family and told them my injury and where I was - without telling me...? all, as the officer wrote, to find out the name of who attacked me?
what kind of officer responds to someone in to a hospital, who says they don't want to report the name of someone who assulted them, refuses to give an emergency contact, deceides it is best to contact a family member who is no longer listed as an emergency contact (and apparently doesn't consider they are no longer listed for a good reason?!) and contacts them and then takes whatever they say as gospel truth? that just doesn't seem right that it never crossed their mind that the very perosn they contacted could have been the attacker i didn't want to report - and thus wasn't listing as an emergency contact!
my injuries have healed. well, the physical ones caused by the attacker.
this family member keeps claiming I have various medical and mental diagnosis i don't have to various people in my extended family - and it's tearing my family apart.
the family member didn't access my chart, and didn't technically give info from the medical record - but did my family member break hipaa by releasing any diagnosis about me to other family members?
the hospital passed on the "diagosis" of "psychotic" and "pathological liar" to the medical facility wher the family member works at...
____________________________________________
this seems like malpractice by the hospital - but there are no real damages as i got care elsewhere.
the problem is the info being on file and trying to deal w that and trying to get it off records and not passed on to others and stopping the family member any way i can - or holding them legalyy accountable in any way i can...
this seems like a violation of my right to privacy somewhere in all of these events - by the family member?
is the family member responsible for malpractice, for being a licensed nurse who shared false information? even though they were acting as a family member, and not my health care provider - does the fact they are also a healthcare provider, mean they are more liable for their slander and false "diagnosing" of me?
The family member happens to be linked to the person who abused me, and was aware something went wrong - but not that I had been attacked.
