Rady Children's Hospital, based in San Diego, is facing a lawsuit alleging that the hospital secretly recorded a patient and her family to prove the child was suffering from abuse, KPBS reported Nov. 7.
The lawsuit, filed in San Diego County Superior Court, stems from 2019 when Madison Meyer was transferred to Rady Children's by her medical team as she was suffering from a mysterious illness that caused broken bones, dislocated joints and chronic pain, according to the news outlet.
The family's lawsuit alleges that when they were at Rady Children's, the hospital had them under 24/7 surveillance for 38 days as they had suspected that Madison was a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy at the hands of her parents, Bill Meyer and Dana Gascay. San Diego County's child abuse investigators shared the suspicion.
According to the family, they were not aware they were being recorded, and are now suing Rady and individual employees for allegedly violating their privacy rights.
"At Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego, our top priority is providing the highest level of care to our patients and families," a Rady Children's spokesperson wrote to the outlet in an emailed statement. "The hospital does not comment generally on pending litigation and cannot comment specifically on this case due to patient privacy protections under federal and state law."