Oops..Minneapolis Law Firm Violates Own Policy

When Jennifer Kane found that her daughter had drawn on the back of a piece of reused paper she was alarmed by what she discovered on the back of the sheet. Not only did she have the name and birthdate of a 24-year-old woman, she also had detailed information about the woman's medical history. That's when Jennifer knew something wasn't right, and she immediately contacted her daughter's school where she had originally gotten the piece of paper.

Schools officials were shocked to discover several other pieces of reused paper were actually medical records before being donated to Hale Elementary, where Jennifer's daughter attends an after-school program. According to the school, the paper was donated by a local law firm called Sawicki & Phelps but the attorneys there say that the whole incident was merely a mistake. Jennifer Kane was a client at the firm after she was involved in a car accident. The attorneys say that Jennifer's medical records, along with other client information, was donated by a paralegal whose daughter also attends Hale Elementary.

The attorneys admit they know the donation of medical records was a violation of the firm's privacy policies, and that the employee who donated the papers didn't realize that there was any personal information on the papers. Nevertheless, that's a small comfort to Jennifer Kane and other clients whose personal medical records may now be sitting in children's homes. The school has since sent out a notice to all parents asking them to return any papers with medical information on them.