ESPN's Adam Schefter is one of the most dogged reporters in sports. He's constantly breaking stories on his Twitter feed, and the tireless 48-year-old was even dubbed a "NFL reporting machine" by the Washington Post.
Schefter enhanced his reputation Wednesday with a bold move that caught many observers off guard.
Schefter tweeted a photo of Jason Pierre-Paul's medical records to prove that the New York Giants defensive end had a finger amputated after a Fourth of July fireworks accident.
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
Schefter did not reveal how he got those images, but questions were immediately raised regarding the ethics of publishing private medical records. Even the Giants' trainer couldn't get access to Pierre-Paul, yet somehow Schefter got his hands on these records.
Some on Twitter wondered whether Schefter violated the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which protects the privacy of certain healthcare information.
The cost of violating HIPAA: fine of up to $50,000, as well as imprisonment up to one year, depending. https://t.co/oBht02asfH
— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) July 8, 2015
Intersection between NFL & HIPAA has come up before. Interested to see how this plays out. Esp now teams put injury info online for teams.
— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) July 8, 2015
How does ESPN obtain and leak the pics of JPP medial charts? Is that even legal?
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) July 8, 2015
At one point late Wednesday, both "Adam Schefter" and "HIPAA" were trending on Twitter.
So what's trending right now? Not Pierre-Paul or JPP or ESPN or Schefter or finger. "HIPAA" is trending right now.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) July 9, 2015
Legal and medical experts say it's not Schefter who violated the law, rather it's whoever took the photo and sent it to ESPN.
If a medical provider leaked JPP medical information, that's a big HIPAA violation. Media like @AdamSchefter are not subject to those laws.
— David J. Chao, MD (@ProFootballDoc) July 9, 2015
Unless Pierre-Paul consented to disclosure, someone (hospital worker?) violated HIPAA. Max HIPAA penalty: only $50K. https://t.co/ErvzocBonY
— Michael McCann (@McCannSportsLaw) July 8, 2015
HIPAA doesn't apply to media who obtain medical records of others. Invasion of privacy does, but 1st Amendment offers a good legal defense.
— Michael McCann (@McCannSportsLaw) July 8, 2015
