Respondeat Superior. Justin Jones suffered from genital herpes and sought treatment from Dr. Steven Baisch of Region West Pediatric Services. A nurse's assistant, Jeni Hallgren, who was a Region West employee, told her friends and some of Jones's

Question

friends about Jones's condition. This was a violation of the Region West employee handbook, which required employees to maintain the confidentiality of patients' records. Jones filed a suit in a federal district court against Region West, among others, alleging that Region West should be held liable for its employee's actions on the basis of respondeat superior. On what basis might the court hold that Region West was not liable for Hallgren's acts? Discuss fully.

Answer 1

Respondeat superior
The court found that Hallgren was not acting within the scope of employment when she disclosed Jones's diagnosis. The court pointed out that under the Region West employee handbook, employees, including Hallgren, "were not authorized to reveal patients' medical records." The court concluded that thus "disclosure of Jones's condition did not occur substantially within the authorized work time and space limits." The court also noted that after learning of the disclosures, Baisch reprimanded Hallgren and warned about further disclosures. "Moreover," reasoned the court, "it is clear that the unauthorized disclosures * * * were not actuated in any way by a purpose to serve [the] employer." The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants, and on Jones's appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld the decision.