Hospital Apologizes (Sorta) for Social Media Photos, Gets Sued

Jose Lopez Canizares, 18 years old, went for a motorcycle ride this past summer probably never thinking he would soon be dead, nor did his father.  Tragically, Mr. Canizares was struck by a vehicle allegedly running a red light.  He was airlifted to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital in Miami-Dade County, but he never regained consciousness and was taken off life support on June 22, 2022.  Every parent's worst nightmare. But, it got worse. 

Mr. Canizares' father, Jose Lopez, was informed by a hospital privacy officer on June 22 (the day Mr. Canizares died) that a staff member had taken pictures of his son when he had initially been brought to their emergency room (after the accident) and posted these pictures on social media.  The hospital also sent an "apology letter" to Mr. Lopez admitting their staff member invaded his son's privacy and stating further that staff were being retrained on privacy matters.  "We have addressed the situation and are taking steps to prevent such incidents from happening in the future," read the letter sent to Mr. Lopez. However, the offending pictures were not initially shown to Mr. Lopez, which, according to the lawsuit he filed, compounded his "grief and stress."  The hospital later shared two pictures with Mr. Lopez.

Mr. Lopez has filed suit against HCA Florida Kendall Hospital.  Here is a news article about the lawsuit. 

No one is going to talk or share much more at this stage of litigation, but we likely know enough to gleam many teachable moments that can help other hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare organizations.  Given the ubiquity of smart phones and social media, this story could happen in your building today, tomorrow, or sometime soon.  So, consider the following:

1) The conversation with Mr. Lopez should have been handled by a team of people in the hospital trained to handle difficult conversations.  In all my years of teaching disclosure and developing disclosure programs, I have never heard of a privacy officer being part of a disclosure team.  This was an emotionally charged situation that called for people who know how to deliver bad news in an empathetic fashion and are able to take the heat from family members. 

2) Rip the band off completely and immediately.  The pictures should have been shown to Mr. Lopez without haste.  Nothing should have been left to the imagination of Mr. Lopez.  Hospital leadership should have shown him how exactly their staff invaded his son's privacy. By not disclosing the pictures immediately, they left Mr. Lopez to wonder and worry what was on the Internet.  Furthermore, Mr. Lopez, to this day, probably wonders if he has seen all the pictures. 

3) The attempted resolution of the situation called for much more than a letter stating "we've told the staff not to do this again," until they do it again.  The disclosure team (see number 1 above) should have the awareness and authority to get creative with this type of calamity.  Mr. Lopez could have been invited to speak to the staff to share the harm that was caused by posting these pictures -- that might have actually made a difference with staff.  Moreover. Mr. Lopez could have been invited by HCA to create a training video that could be shared across their system and with other healthcare organizations (acute and long-term care). People would actually watch such a video!  So often families file lawsuits when they don't feel heard, their problems are not taken seriously, and the system in question has not made adequate fixes. Getting Mr. Lopez involved would have checked all these boxes in an ethical and compassionate fashion and actually made a difference going forward (i.e, no more patient pictures posted by staff on social media).

4) Was there an attempt by the hospital to get the staff member who took the pictures to personally apologize to Mr. Lopez? 

5) Did anyone ask what else Mr. Lopez needed?  Counseling?  Other help?  I imagine most of his needs in this case were emotional in nature, but they turned financial via a lawsuit when no one bothered to ask or attempt to meet Mr. Lopez's emotional demands.  Never be afraid to ask questions such as "What else can we do for you to right this wrong?" and then really listen. 

6) It appears the hospital tried to apologize via letter, and badly missed the mark.  Again, the apology should have been handled in person a team of trained individuals (see bullet point 1 above), and any letter sent to the father and family should have been follow up in nature: "Again, we are terribly sorry about the pictures that were posted and here are the next steps we discussed with you..."   Most apologies and attempts at reconciliation should not be dumped in letters...they need to be done in person.

7) Nothing stops HCA counsel from forwarding this e-newsletter to Mr. Lopez's attorney and saying/asking if the ideas mentioned herein could resolve his lawsuit.  

8) When the media called asking for a comment on Mr. Lopez's lawsuit, the hospital did not respond...breaking a cardinal rule of crisis communications.  No comment is never OK.  See this blog post.  

9) Lastly, I will see the good here too....10 to 20 years ago there were no apology letters or any other post-event communications with families.  So, healthcare organizations are trying...just need to keep working at it and perfecting disclosure processes.  Hopefully this blog posts helps!  

The recently released 3rd edition of The Little Book of Empathy helps healthcare organizations working to embrace disclosure.  This quick, economical read is perfect for leadership and front-line staff.  Get your individual copies today or e-mail doug@sorryworks.net for bulk order inquires. 

Sincerely,

- Doug

Doug Wojcieszak, MA, MS
Founder & President
Sorry Works!
618-559-8168 (direct dial)
doug@sorryworks.net