I have a good friend that just called pretty upset. He works for a big corporation in the HR department. An employee was asking him about health insurance benefits coverage for the employees son who has a medical condition. My friend said he would ask the benefits department. Instead of I guess removing the name of the employee, he just forwarded the e-mail to the benefits department who also works for the same company.

Now he was told that he violated HIPPA. Is that correct?

No, its not correct. HIPAA covers what medical providers can disclose and to whom. In addition, its within the same company in reference to specific client needs so wouldn't be a violation anyway.