WHEELING — An elementary school teacher is suing his ex-wife, alleging she accessed his confidential health information and then used it to injure him and cause him to lose his job.
Nigel Prexta Walsh filed a complaint in Ohio Circuit Court against The Health Plan of West Virginia Inc., fka The Health Plan of the Upper Ohio Valley, and Natalie Walsh.
The suit states the plaintiff and defendant were a divorced couple. The plaintiff alleges that from May 19 through May 22, 2017, the defendant improperly accessed the protected health information of the plaintiff. The plaintiff had previously sought a voluntary detoxification program and was given anti-anxiety medication and wanted to stop taking the medication. The suit states the defendant used the information to accuse the plaintiff of being a drug addict. The defendant filed a criminal report against the plaintiff on July 19, 2017, using the information found in his files and subsequently damaging his reputation due to the defendant's allegations, leading to his termination as a fourth-grade science teacher.
The defendant is accused of negligence, public disclosure of private facts, invasion of privacy of breach of the duty of confidentiality, negligent hiring and supervision, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The plaintiff is seeking all reasonable sums due, attorney fees and court costs and trial by jury. The plaintiff is represented by Paul Harris of Harris Law Offices in Wheeling.
The case has been assigned to Judge Jason Cuomo.
Ohio Circuit Court case number 19-C-60