You are a paralegal working in a personal injury law firm. Your firm just signed up Martha Peterson who is a famous actress on a murder mystery series on TV. Martha was rear-ended at a stop sign two years ago. The other driver was clearly at fault. Martha has all the documentation from the hospital to support her injuries. She claims she still has neck issues and her lower back still hurts. In the initial interview with her, she said she did not have any other injuries in the past so she did not have any neck issues or back issues prior to the accident. In the deposition with the opposing side’s attorney, she claimed she did not have any neck or back issues in the past.
Martha has signed written authorizations for medical releases for you to obtain medical information. As you are reviewing medical past records you run across the fact that she had a baby when she was 16 and had lower back pain with the pregnancy. You inform Martha that you found this record. Martha is devastated because she did not want anyone to know about this pregnancy. She tells you it would ruin her marriage and career. She does not want this information shared. What do you do? Looking to the NALA Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility Canons, does this violate any of the Canons?
Reference
Jeffries, R. (2014). Torts and personal injury law for the paralegal. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson.