‘When any party to a contract, whether oral or written, fails to perform any of the contracts terms, they may be found in breach of contract’
Breaches of contract are a very tedious thing, which is no surprise because as is the law. They tend to be quite long and very stressful for both parties involved. Here are a few legal cases that came about through a breach of contract.
The Ryan Snuffer Case
The daughter of Ryan Snuffer required medical treatment and medication for a rare condition that otherwise left her unable to thrive. Her treatments were being funded by the United Health Service (UHS) and this coverage began in 2008.
UHS breached the contract between themselves and Mr. Snuffer when they failed to provide Mr. Snuffers daughter with the medical coverage that she needed to stay her usual happy self.
The fact that UHS did not uphold their side of the contract resulted in Mr. Snuffer racking up over $43,000 worth of medical bills that he was unable to pay.
As a result Mr. Snuffer is seeking compensation for the exact amount of the medical bill, punitive damages and all other costs regarding the trial.
Aventura Hospital and Medical Centre
Sometimes when it comes to breach of contract the contract is not necessarily with just one individual. When signing in at a hospital or medical centre you are required to fill in a form with your personal details. Name, address, contact details etc. Those forms state that the company you are entrusting this information to will keep your information safe and will not willingly give this information to any third parties.
In the case of Aventura Hospital and Medical Centre (who at the time had three data breaches in two years) they were sued by a former patient and she sued them for damage and compensation. The breach that caused this patient to file a lawsuit left 82,601 patients exposed with their information out there for anyone to find. It was caused by an employee inappropriately accessed patients names, birthdays, and social security numbers.
The plaintiffs were suing for fiscal compensation for breach of contract damages, and breach of implied contract and unjust enrichment.
Avera Marshall Regional Medical Centre
Lastly healthcare contract breaches can relate to the staff as well. In this case the Minnesota Hospital breached its contract when it changed the bylaws without getting the approval of two thirds majority of the medical staff required to approve the change.
The change resulted in nearly all of their rights and responsibilities being removed – the hospital then had all authority over what the medical staff needed to direct. After he hearing went in favour of the hospital the staff appealed and the case eventually made it to the Supreme Court where it went in favour of the staff.
