CHARLESTON — A woman is suing Kroger claiming a pharmacy technician shared her health information on the internet.
Kroger Limited Partnership I, Kroger Specialty Pharmacy Holdings I, Kroger Specialty Pharmacy FL 2 and Cassandra Pierce were all named as defendants in the suit.
Jennifer Neblett is a patient and customer of Kroger's pharmacy and has obtained many prescriptions on numerous occasions at the pharmacy, according to a complaint filed in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Neblett claims the pharmacy collects and maintains possession, custody and control of a wide variety of information and records regarding her medical diagnoses, treatment, history, health care information and prescribed and recommended medications from health care providers.
The defendants had an obligation to protect and secure the confidentiality of her information, however, on Oct. 8, 2019, Pierce was working as a pharmacy technician at Kroger and accessed her information, according to the suit.
Neblett claims after obtaining the information and records regarding her care, diagnoses, treatment and prescriptions, Pierce communicated Neblett's confidential and private healthcare information to a third party on at least one social media account with the intent to mock and humiliate her.
The plaintiff did not discover that Pierce had done this until October 2021, according to the suit.
"Defendants failed to take reasonable and adequate actions to protect information and records relating to plaintiff's confidential and private medical care, medical diagnoses and treatment and prescription medications," the complaint states. "As a result, information and records regarding plaintiff's confidential and private medical care, medical diagnoses and treatment, and prescription medications were viewed by individuals who did not have a need to access or view the information."
Neblett claims the defendants were negligent and caused her harm.
Neblett is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. She is represented by Brett J. Preston and Dan R. Snugger of WVLawyer PLLC in Charleston.
The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Kenneth Ballard.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 22-C-358