A father in Florida is suing the hospital where his son died last year, claiming employees violated his son's privacy. Jose Lopez Canizares was 18 years old when he was gravely injured in a motorcycle crash on May 28, 2022. Emergency crews airlifted him to HCA Kendall Hospital in Miami, where his family hoped he would recover. Sadly, he succumbed to his injuries several weeks later.
Canizares' father, Jose Fabian Lopez, filed a lawsuit in Miami-Dade County against the hospital, the group that runs it, and two employees. Lopez said that while they were supposed to care for his son, employees took pictures of a dying Canizares and posted them on Instagram. No amount of money will bring Lopez's son back, but he wants HCA Kendall held responsible.
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Canizares was reportedly struck by a vehicle while riding his motorcycle.
According to Miami New Times, Canizares was riding his motorcycle in Kendall Lakes when he was struck by a motor vehicle. The driver of the vehicle allegedly ran a red light.
He arrived at HCA Kendall for treatment of extensive injuries. Tragically, he never regained consciousness and died on June 22, nearly a month after the crash.
Lopez learned about the images after his son died.
Miami New Times reported in October 2022 that Canizares had already died when his father discovered the alleged images. According to the outlet, an emergency room employee posted a picture of Canizares while he was in the operating room. The picture was captioned with emojis, and the employee reportedly tagged coworkers. Lopez did not authorize the hospital to publish a photo of his son and only found out about it after he was taken off life support.
The lawsuit claims no one tried to stop the employee from taking the pictures.
According to Insider, one of the employees in the suit allegedly took photos in front of as many as 20 employees. The lawsuit states no one intervened, including doctors, nurses, or technicians. The employee then allegedly shared the images with coworkers and on Instagram with more than 3,000 followers.
"I think it's egregious what they did," said Robert C. Solomon of Saban & Solomon Solicitors, who is representing the father told Insider. "I think that the level of breach of trust in this case is as bad as it gets."
The hospital issued a written apology to Lopez.
Miami New Times reported that the hospital acknowledged the breach of privacy and apologized to the family, assuring them the image was removed from social media and staff would receive additional training on patient privacy.
But according to Insider, the suit states hospital staff knew about the images as early as June 1, 2022, but didn't tell the family.
"I think they purposely sat on the information," said Solomon. "There's no excuse, they had the information and they should have told his family immediately."
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The suit seeks damages in excess of $30,000.
Lopez's attorney told Insider his client expected his son to be cared for at the hospital, not exploited.
"Your son is in a traumatic motorcycle accident, the last thing you're thinking is they're going to take pictures of him like he's on display," Solomon said.
Solomon said that their case is strong, and he is ready to face a jury.
"I mean, why are you guys taking pictures instead of doing what you need to do to save this kid's life?"
