- Hospital workers put photos on Instagram of a motorcycle-crash victim who later died, per a lawsuit.
- The father of Jose Lopez Canizares is suing the hospital over the alleged breach
- The father's attorney told Insider that the breach of trust in this case is "as bad as it gets."
After 18-year-old Jose Lopez Canizares was airlifted to HCA Kendall Hospital in Miami, Florida, on May 28, 2022, he lay unconscious for several weeks.
He had been struck by a car while riding his motorcycle, an incident that would prove fatal.
But while the teenager was fighting for his life, hospital staff took photos of his catastrophic injuries and posted them to Instagram by hospital staff, per a new lawsuit.
The teen's father, Jose Fabian Lopez, is suing the hospital, the group that runs it, and two employees, according to a complaint filed in Miami-Dade County.
The complaint included a letter from the hospital admitting that an image was posted, and saying the employee had been "appropriately sanctioned."
Lopez alleged invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other counts, and is seeking damages in excess of $30,000.
"I think it's egregious what they did," said Robert C. Solomon of Saban & Solomon Solicitors, who is representing the father, in a conversation with Insider. "I think that the level of breach of trust in this case is as bad as it gets."
According to the complaint, one hospital worker took three unauthorized and "gratuitous" photos of Canizares while he was undergoing treatment in the trauma bay.
Approximately 20 hospital employees watched while the photos were taken, per the complaint, including nurses, technicians, and doctors. It said nobody intervened.
The hospital worker proceeded to share the photos with his colleagues and his Instagram followers, the complaint said. He posted another photo of the victim while he was in the operating room, also to Instagram, tagging a fellow employee.
That colleague, who is also named as a defendant, reposted the photo to his own Instagram feed, which had over 3,000 followers, adding emojis to the caption, according to the complaint.
"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," said Solomon.
He added, "I mean, why are you guys taking pictures instead of doing what you need to do to save this kid's life?"
Lopez found out about the posts from a hospital employee a few days before taking his son off life support, the complaint said.
Lopez died on June 23, 2022, but the plaintiffs allege in the complaint that the hospital knew about the posts around three weeks before — as early as June 1, 2022.
"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."
According to the complaint, Lopez's mental health deteriorated as a result of the photos, with him struggling to sleep, eat, and focus on work.
The hospital tried to have the lawsuit dismissed, arguing that any breach of privacy affected only the son and not the father, but the presiding judge only dismissed a negligence count, per the Miami New Times.
Solomon said that there are still enough counts to move forward with the case. "We have enough right now to move forward and get this case in front of the jury," he said.
HCA Kendall did not respond to Insider's request for comment.