George Floyd’s Medical Data Breached Multiple Times by ‘a Number’ of Employees, Says Family

It wasn’t enough for Minneapolis police officers to kneel on George Floyd’s neck. In the months since, Floyd’s character has been attacked by politicians, pundits and others invested in protecting police. While some of this behavior is (sadly) expected, the violations against Floyd and his family appear to go even further than anticipated. In a stunning revelation courtesy of Floyd’s family lawyer, workers at the hospital where Floyd was treated on the night he died violated his privacy by improperly accessing his medical records.

The Hennepin County Medical Center confirmed the 46-year-old’s medical data was breached multiple times since his death, reports CBS News. Floyd was taken to the hospital after his fatal encounter with former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin, who knelt on his neck for more than 8 minutes as Floyd lay prone on the ground, pleading with officers that he couldn’t breathe.

Attorney Antonio Romanucci said Floyd’s family was contacted via letter by the hospital about the breaches.

“The letter said there were breaches of his data over multiple dates and that the employees involved are ‘no longer with the organization,” said Romanucci.

The family doesn’t know what kind of records were accessed. Kare 11 reports that the employees involved were fired for HIPAA violations. “A number” of staff members were involved in improperly accessing Floyd’s medical records, reports the New York Daily News.

Though Floyd’s family hasn’t requested evidence or issues subpoenas related to the invasion of Floyd’s privacy, lawyers for the family are currently “exploring all our remedies” with regard to the breach, said Romanucci.

“When George Floyd was desperate for a breath, the city of Minneapolis pushed on his neck further,” he said. “And even after death, he was abused and mistreated by the system.”

Romanucci elaborated to KARE 11: “[The family feels] it’s a continued assassination of George Floyd, his character.”

“It’s a nonstop issue. And they were very upset, very disturbed, disappointed that even in death, that George Floyd’s character is being maligned by people that didn’t have any business looking at his private medical record.”

A Hennepin Healthcare spokeswoman told news outlets, “Any breach of patient confidentiality is taken seriously and thoroughly investigated.”