Hello! My name is Ken and I am a law enforcement officer. I have recently found myself in a dilemna that I need help with. Part of the function of my job was to listen to telephone calls made by inmates from the jail. There was no way to identify who the call was made to without listening to the call or a portion of the call. As you know inmates call attorneys from the jail. The jail had a system where the attorneys could place their numbers into a log where the recording computer would not even record these calls and they also could not be monitored. However, if an attorney did not put his/her number on this list their calls were also subject to monitoring and/or recording. This was the attorneys' responsibility to do.
In speaking with an attorney about his client (the inmate) at a deposition "off the record" we were speaking and I told the attorney about a medical condition & subsequent treatment that I was having to undergo as a result of actually poking myself with one of inmates' tattoo needles which are illegal contraband in the jail. At this point the attorney and I ended the conversation. I thought no more of it at that time.
A few days later I was listening to recorded calls of this particular inmate. I heard the inmate speaking to a male voice that happened to be the attorney. I then heard the attorney tell this inmate about my medical condition that I had told the attorney about prior to this call.
Last but not least, this was on a call from the inmate which is preceded by the statement "This call may be recorded or monitored" which in my opinion takes away any expectation of privacy on either the attorneys' part or the inmates' part.
Here is my question: "In telling this inmate, his client, about my medical condition, did this attorney violate my HIPAA laws and if so, what recourse do I have against him?"

Not even close. You have absolutely NO recourse against him. HIPPA prohibits CAREGIVERS from revealing diagnosis and treatment details to unauthorized persons. The attorney was not a caregiver. In addition, he was not YOUR attorney so not privilege is attached.

You VOLUNTARILY gave this info to the attorney. But doing so you ceded any right to privacy about this info. So, none of your rights were violated and therefore you have no recourse.

I have to wholeheartedly agree with Scott. Sorry, but no, this is not a HIPAA violation.

Just for an example... It would have been a HIPAA violation should the doctor, nurse, or any other person affiliated with your care, share the info with anyone who is not involved in your care or treatment.

As you offered the information voluntarily to someone outside of a medical setting, you gave implied consent for him to share this info with others. I will say though, that this was not very professional of the attorney. But it is not a violation of HIPAA.

No, not even close, most people think HIPPA does a lot more than it does, in fact there are even exceptions about inmates in it.

Plus of course since the conversation was between attorney and client, you could not use the converstation in any court anyway.