A New York State Appellate Court has recently upheld a $365,000 jury award against a health care center that mistakenly disclosed information regarding a patient’s medical information…. She gave instructions to Surgi-Center never to call her at home despite providing them with her home telephone number on questionnaire forms. A day after the procedure, a nurse called the number provided to inquire about her condition and to confirm that she had no subsequent medical complications…. In a 3-2 decision, the Court held that the plaintiff be awarded punitive damages for an unintentional breach of confidential medical information even if there was no malice or malicious behavior by the defendant. As a result, the 2nd Department of New York has expanded the scope of punitive damages to include unintentional medical disclosure regardless of whether the act was done in good-faith…. Even though the medical center’s actions were not malicious, intentional or done in bad faith, disclosing the plaintiff’s medical information was grossly negligent and wanton behavior…. The Court here is clearly concerned with instances of wrongful medical disclosure and shows itself to be in sync with state and federal legislative efforts to protect confidential information. The opinion does not discuss violations of federal privacy laws such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA)…. Court cases like this highlight the need for companies to enact strong compliance rules that clearly describe the conditions in which data can be disclosed.