HIV patients sue after records lost

Four HIV-positive patients whose records were left behind on an MBTA train by a Massachusetts General Hospital employee are suing the hospital, contending their privacy was breached. In March, the hospital notified 66 patients who received care at its Infectious Disease Associates outpatient practice that billing records bearing their names, Social Security numbers, doctors, and diagnoses had been lost by a manager who was riding the train. Four of the 66 patients filed a breach-of-privacy suit in Suffolk Superior Court against the hospital and the unidentified billing manager.