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LANDMARK CASE, WALL v. PAHL, IS PUBLISHED AND FINAL

10/3/2016

 
In late August, I notified you of our great success in the Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, Circuit Court case, Wall v. Pahl.  Wall sued my clients, alleging they breached Wisconsin Statutes  pertaining to health care record confidentiality while employed at a local clinic.  

After being hired, I immediately filed a motion to dismiss with the Trempealeau County Circuit Court, where the lawsuit was filed.  I was successful getting the lawsuit dismissed at the earliest stage possible, on the grounds that the Civil Complaint failed to state a claim under Wisconsin law.   Wall appealed that ruling to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.  After I submitted a legal brief in opposition to Wall's appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal on August 30, 2016, releasing its decision in Wall v. Pahl, 2016, WI App 71.  You can read a detailed analysis of the decision here, in publication by the State Bar of Wisconsin.

I have now been notified that the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has, in fact, ordered that Wall v. Pahl be a "published" decision.  That means Wall v. Pahlcan be cited as binding legal precedent for later cases.  The vast majority of Wisconsin Court of Appeals cases are unpublished and cannot be cited as biding precedent.  

Furthermore, more than 30 days has passed since Wall v. Pahl was released. Therefore, it cannot be further appealed to the Supreme Court for the State of Wisconsin.  That means this decision is the final word on lawsuits of this nature in the State of Wisconsin.

Wall v. Pahl ruled that a patient cannot sue healthcare workers who access the patient's health information without the patient's knowledge or permission--even for non-work related purposes--so long as the healthcare worker has not disclosed the information outside the healthcare organization.   The ruling will obviously have a state-wide impact.  Moreover, because this issue is sure to arise outside of the State of Wisconsin, Wall v. Pahl will, no doubt, be cited as authority and have an impact in other state courts as well. 

It should be noted that our clients denied that they accessed Wall's medical records without his permission.  

Dyer Law Firm, LLC is a Civil and Criminal/OWI Law firm serving La Crosse County and surrounding areas.  Despite its small size, it continues to make legal history.    

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    Author

    Christopher W. Dyer, a Wisconsin and Minnesota Trial Lawyer, serving La Crosse and surrounding counties.

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