San Diego hospital sued for secretly recording 1,800 women being ‘physically exposed’

As many as 81 women who were filmed without their knowledge while receiving medical treatment – including gynecological surgery – at a California hospital filed lawsuits last week, according to Supreme Court documents.

For an 11-month period between July 2012 and June 2013, roughly 1,800 women were secretly recorded at the women’s center of the Sharp Grossmont Hospital, in San Diego.

Motion-sensor cameras installed in three of the operating rooms captured videos of births, emergency C-sections, hysterectomies, miscarriages and a number of other medical procedures.

Women were also said to be filmed undressing in the rooms, as well as while they were unconscious during their respective operations or procedures. Their faces and genitals are visible among many of the 15,000 video files, the lawsuit claims.

None of the women say they were aware or were told they were being filmed at the medical center.

For an 11-month period between July 2012 and June 2013, roughly 1,800 women were secretly recorded at the women’s center of the Sharp Grossmont Hospital (pictured), in San Diego 

Laptop motion-sensor cameras installed in three of the operating rooms captured videos of births, emergency C-sections, hysterectomies, miscarriages and a number of other medical procedures

Laptop motion-sensor cameras installed in three of the operating rooms captured videos of births, emergency C-sections, hysterectomies, miscarriages and a number of other medical procedures

Women were also said to be filmed undressing in the rooms, as well as while they were unconscious during their respective operations or procedures (stock image)

Women were also said to be filmed undressing in the rooms, as well as while they were unconscious during their respective operations or procedures (stock image)

‘I am a mom of four girls. I lead by example,’ affected patient Jessica Lincoln told NBC 7. ‘I’m a pretty black and white person as far as what is right and what is wrong, and this is wrong.’

In a statement, the hospital revealed the cameras – which were inside laptops on anesthesia carts in the operating rooms – had originally been deployed to tackle a rising issue of theft at the facility.

‘Although the cameras were intended to record only individuals in front of the anesthesia carts removing drugs, others, including patients and medical personnel in the operating rooms, were at times visible to the cameras and recorded,’ a spokesperson said.

‘The purpose of the these cameras was to ensure patient safety by determining the cause of drugs missing from the carts,’ spokesperson John Cihomsky added to Buzzfeed News.

Victim Jessica Lincoln (above) described the surveillance system as 'just wrong'

Victim Jessica Lincoln (above) described the surveillance system as ‘just wrong’

A class-action lawsuit against the hospital was originally filed against Sharp Grossmont in 2016, but the court denied the suit on the basis of its class certification. The 81 plaintiffs refiled the action with the Supreme Court last week.

As well as claiming a breach of privacy for being filmed without their consent, the women also accuse the hospital of being ‘grossly negligent’ in storing their recordings.

The files were said to be saved to desktop computers, some of which weren’t password protected, according to court documents. They also made no logs of who accessed the footage or when.

Sharp Grossmont say they did delete half of the footage but couldn’t confirm whether the files were recoverable or not.

‘Sharp violated their right to privacy and breached its fiduciary duty in the most egregious way by secretly recording them, allowing non-medical personnel to view the recordings without making any effort to track who was viewing them, and then destroying some of the recordings,’ the complaint reads.

The hospital has previously said the patients consented to being recorded in a generic patient admissions form, but those taking legal action believe the agreement doesn’t supersede their constitutional right to privacy

The hospital has previously said the patients consented to being recorded in a generic patient admissions form, but those taking legal action believe the agreement doesn’t supersede their constitutional right to privacy

In a statement, the hospital revealed the cameras - which were inside laptops on anesthesia carts in the operating rooms - had originally been deployed to tackle a rising issue of theft at the facility

In a statement, the hospital revealed the cameras – which were inside laptops on anesthesia carts in the operating rooms – had originally been deployed to tackle a rising issue of theft at the facility

One of the plaintiffs, Melissa Escalera, says she was secretly filmed giving birth to her daughter by emergency cesarean in September 2012. She said she’s taking legal action against the hospital for a ‘systematic and shocking breach’ of her rights to privacy as a patient.

‘When I arrived in an ambulance and was wheeled into the operating room on a gurney, my concern was with my daughter who was in distress and coming six weeks early,’ Escalera told NBC 7.

‘It was a highly stressful and emotional time for my family and my doctor. No one ever asked me to record one of my most tender, life-changing moments. I would have never agreed to be recorded in that vulnerable moment,’ she continued.

The hospital has previously said the patients consented to being recorded in a generic patient admissions form, but those taking legal action believe the agreement doesn’t supersede their constitutional right to privacy.

‘These videos captured images of cesarean births, birth complications, dilation and curettage to resolve miscarriages, hysterectomies and sterilization procedures,’ the complaint details.

‘Patients were undressed, exposed and at their most vulnerable during these procedures.’ 

Former Sharp physician Dr. Patrick Sullivan has also filed a lawsuit against the hospital, relating to alleged malpractice at the facility

Former Sharp physician Dr. Patrick Sullivan has also filed a lawsuit against the hospital, relating to alleged malpractice at the facility

Former Sharp physician Dr. Patrick Sullivan has also filed a lawsuit against the hospital, after they allegedly harassed him and forced him to resign, because he criticized the safety measures of a number of practices.

His 48-page complaint also claims the hospital later reinstalled the hidden cameras in 2016, to record patients and doctors without their consent.

A spokesperson for sharp refuted the claims that the hospital reinstalled the surveillance cameras.

‘New laptops were installed in the ORs in support of SurgiNet, a preoperative and anesthesia information system,’ the statement to Times of San Diego read. ‘Like all new laptops, they came with built-in cameras; however, software was never installed on those laptops to activate the cameras. No surveillance occurred.’

Primarily, Sullivan’s lawsuit claims Sharp failed to address and rectify dozens of safety hazards, including severe under-staffing, medication shortages and perpetuating hostility in the workplace.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk