Beck v. North Broward Hospital District d/b/a Broward Health
Former patients brought a putative class action against a public hospital district for negligence and breach of contract arising from a 2021 data breach. The Fourth DCA affirmed dismissal with prejudice, holding that section 768.28(1)'s limited tort waiver does not reach purely economic/privacy damages absent actual damage to tangible property, and that HIPAA notices, a Patient's Bill of Rights, medical staff bylaws, and a code of conduct are informational documents that do not constitute the express written contract required to waive immunity in contract.
Key facts
- Former patients filed a putative class action against North Broward Hospital District, a public hospital, alleging negligence and breach of contract arising from a 2021 data breach that compromised their personal and health information.
- The trial court dismissed the complaint with prejudice; the Fourth DCA affirmed, holding that sovereign immunity under section 768.28(1) does not waive for purely economic and privacy damages absent actual damage to tangible property.
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Why it matters
This is the Fourth DCA's first substantial statement on whether Florida public hospitals and other governmental entities can be sued for data breaches, and the answer is largely no: privacy-based and economic… — full analysis with a trial
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