Is this a violation of my HIPPA rights?

I work for an insurance company and filed a workers' comp claim for a work injury that I sustained a few months ago. I discovered an email sent to a coworker from an attorney with ALL of my medical notes - including the medical documentation from my family physician with my medical history. Now she knows personal information and I discern violated. What do I do? Is this a federal crime?
Best Answer:

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Although the purpose of HIPAA is to protect an individuals medical privacy and confidentiality, there are exceptions. HIPAA regulations specifically allow covered entities to disclose health information as authorized and to the extent necessary to comply beside workers compensation laws (45 CFR § 164.512). Here is a great article regarding this http://worker-comp-law.com/content/hipaa-and-workers-compensation.html You say you work for an insurance company. If your employer is work comp self-insured (and they are handling the benefits), later certain people in the company are entitled to review your medical accounts. Sorry, I know that is not the answer you were looking for. I feel discouraging and can understand why you feel violated. My recommendations is to agree to your Human Resources know your concerns. .
Been doing work comp since 2000 and have been certified under the SIP (self-insured plan) from the CA Department of Industrial Relations since June 2004.

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It may be a infringement. You should consult a lawyer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_Insurance_Portability_and_Accountability_Act

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It is certainly a violation of your HIPPA rights unless the entity who got the email was an HR person.

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