A Pennsylvania woman has sued a hospital where she once worked after they took photos of her while she was on the operating table.
Sheila Harosky, 45, sued Washington Hospital, its chief executive, and the doctor performing the surgery, Dennis Brown. She alleged that they committed medical malpractice and an invasion of privacy when they took photos of her while she was nude.
She discovered the pictures when she got back to work after a hernia surgery in September of 2016. She told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that colleague came up to her with the photos on her phone and said, “I’ve got something for your scrapbook.”
The hospital, in a statement, said the photos were taken as an extension of a practical joke that she had participated in by placing fake intestines on her body before the surgery, the Tribune-Review reported.
She admitted to playing a joke on the doctor, but she didn’t give permission for the photos to be taken.
“She showed me four to six photos of me unconscious in the operating room being prepped for surgery,” said Harosky, adding that a nurse allegedly showed the photos to others. “There was my private parts. There was everything, everything that you see in the operating room.”
Harosky said that a similar incident happened and involved at least one other patient at the hospital.
CBS Pittsburgh reported that the Health Department confirms the hospital was cited for violating the Pennsylvania state policy on cellphone use in a sterile environment.