Breach of confidence
Encyclopedia
The tort
of breach of confidence, is a common law
tort that protects private information that is conveyed in confidence. A claim for breach of confidence typically requires the information to be of a confidential nature, which was communicated in confidence, and was disclosed to the detriment of the claimant.
Establishing breach of confidentiality depends on proving the existence and breach of a duty of confidentiality. Courts in the US look at the nature of the relationship between the parties. Most commonly, breach of confidentiality applies to the patient-physician relationship but it can also apply to relationships involving banks, hospitals, and insurance companies and many others.
Tort
A tort, in common law jurisdictions, is a wrong that involves a breach of a civil duty owed to someone else. It is differentiated from a crime, which involves a breach of a duty owed to society in general...
of breach of confidence, is a common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
tort that protects private information that is conveyed in confidence. A claim for breach of confidence typically requires the information to be of a confidential nature, which was communicated in confidence, and was disclosed to the detriment of the claimant.
Establishing breach of confidentiality depends on proving the existence and breach of a duty of confidentiality. Courts in the US look at the nature of the relationship between the parties. Most commonly, breach of confidentiality applies to the patient-physician relationship but it can also apply to relationships involving banks, hospitals, and insurance companies and many others.
External links
- Breach of confidence in the UK
- Breach of confidence in Canada
- Privacy's Other Path: Recovering The Law Of Confidentiality, Neil M Richards, Washington University School of Law; Daniel J. SoloveDaniel J. SoloveDaniel J. Solove is a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School. He is well known for his academic work on privacy and for popular books on how privacy relates with information technology...
, George Washington University Law School