There’s no doubting that New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul had possibly the worst accident of the year when he injured his hand in a fireworks incident on July 4th of 2015. Pierre-Paul blew off parts of his hand and some fingers but he did return to the Giants and played eight games in the 2015 campaign with a heavily taped up hand.
But before Pierre-Paul took the field for the Giants there were many people who were clamoring to see the result of Pierre-Paul’s fireworks accident. One man who was quick to post the story was ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The NFL reporter didn’t post a picture of JPP’s hand but instead he posted a picture of his medical records on twitter, and that might have not been in Schefter’s best interest.
ESPN obtained medical charts that show Giants DE Jason Pierre-Paul had right index finger amputated today. pic.twitter.com/VI5cbS1uCw
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 8, 2015
The tweet that Schefter posted just a few days after the incident is now be getting both Adam and his employer, ESPN, sued by the Giants defensive end.
Following from Julia Marsh of the New York Post.
Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is flagging ESPN and its reporter Adam Schefter for posting his private medical records online to millions of readers.
Pierre-Paul, 27, sued ESPN and Schefter in a Florida court Wednesday citing a violation of his privacy.
The NFL player blew off a finger in a July 4 fireworks mishap and was treated at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, according to his lawyers Mitchell Schuster and Kevin Fritz.
Schefter “improperly obtained” Pierre-Paul’s medical chart showing the defensive end had his right index finger amputated and posting the record on Twitter to nearly 4 million followers, the suit says.
“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 says.
Despite there being a solid case against Schefter on the surface, it actually might be a very hard case for JPP to win. Reporters and media personalities aren’t subject to HIPAA laws, and the Florida statute § 456.057, which the suit alleges that Schefter violated, doesn’t really seem to apply to Schefter, only the hospital employees who sent him the photos. Those employees have reportedly since been fired. Even the lawsuit acknowledges that “the amputation may have been of legitimate public concern” and that fact might actually hurt a public figure like Pierre-Paul because like him, who are in the public eye, often do not win invasion of privacy cases.
Check out the full lawsuit below.
