Jailtime: eight years for Spanish health centre administrator for accessing her family's medical records 1,329 times

Courts

The court found it proven that all these accesses of her daughter's and grandchildren's medical records were done for reasons unrelated to her job and without justification or consent

Susana Zamora

She gained unauthorised access of the medical records of her own daughter and three grandchildren a total of 1,329 times. There was no justification ... for this and, furthermore, far from remaining within the bounds of a personal consultation for her alone, the data was leaked and shared with third parties.

This state of affairs did not stay within the family and ultimately ended up in court, as it was understood to have violated the privacy of both minors and adults.

The civil and criminal chamber of the high court of justice in Navarre (TSJN) has now upheld the sentence imposed by the provincial court. The latter court had imposed a two-year prison term and a 4,200-euro fine on this health centre administrator for each of the four counts of continuous disclosure of the private business of others, with the mitigating circumstances of reparation of damages and mental impairment.

Following the ruling, she will not be allowed to communicate with or come within 200 metres of her victimised family members for a total of 20 years (five for each offence).

Compensation

As part of her civil liability, she will also have to pay 25,000 euros in compensation for moral damages to her daughter and 10,000 euros to each of her three grandchildren. The 24,000 euros already deposited will be deducted from this sum, so she will pay a total of 31,000 euros.

The court also imposed a seven-year ban on holding public office for each of the four offences.

From May 2021 to May 2024, the civil servant accessed her daughter's medical records on 677 occasions and those of her three grandchildren (two boys and one girl) on 263, 275 and 114 occasions respectively. She also printed out reports on 122 occasions.

According to the court, "these nonstop accesses were done for reasons unrelated to her professional duties, without justification for any care needs and without authorisation or consent" from the mother.

At the time of the facts related to this case, according to the sentence, the defendant "was diagnosed with an adjustment disorder and impulse control disorder, which affected her volitional faculties in a mild way".

Illegal dissemination of content

In its ruling, the civil and criminal chamber of the TSJN dismissed in its entirety the appeal filed by the defense. "In light of the evidence presented at trial, this chamber, like the provincial court in its ruling, has no doubt that the defendant disseminated data illegally obtained through access to the medical records of her daughter and her underage grandchildren", stated the chamber.

In its appeal, the defense argued for the acquittal of the convicted woman on the grounds that she should be fully exempt from any criminal responsibility due to mental impairment.

The court, however, rejected the alleged dissociative disorder. "The reasons why this chamber, like the sentencing body, does not find the presence of a dissociative disorder in the accused that, if it existed, would necessarily have prevented her not only from knowing what she was doing, but even from remembering it afterwards, are varied", explained the judges. In other words, they refuted the existence of the necessary amnesia, given that it was the accused herself who disseminated the data extracted from the medical records to third parties.