Can I sue for a HIPAA violation?
Location: California
I was seeing a therapist virtually through Kaiser. During a session I disclosed , of course, very personal details and was in a time of crisis my therapist had someone present in the room in the background eating. I felt very shocked and had a difficult time after that because I have always struggled with mental health and being open. I disclosed many things in that session up until the point where someone walked into the frame and sat at a counter top and began eating. I was incredibly shocked and had a difficult time speaking, I was at a time of crisis and had just lost a sibling unexpectedly so it was a vulnerable time for me. After that session I immediately cancelled my next session and stopped my treatment all together which set me back heavily. I had a lot of anxiety talking to any sort of professional for some time and dealt with my traumas and crisis alone which was overwhelming and put me in an even darker place in life. After some time I did work up starting therapy again which was very difficult for me but something I desperately needed. I worked through the anxiety with my current therapist and a few months ago contacted Kaiser about this in hopes of having something be done to assure this wouldn’t happen to anyone else, at least from this specific therapist. This therapist was already very judgmental and honestly not very helpful but after that session I was set back. I did not hear anything again after speaking with someone from Kaiser and I am curious if there is anything I can do legally?