Law360, New York ( December 10, 2014, 1:27 PM EST) -- The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act does not provide for a private right of action for plaintiffs, as violations are subject only to enforcement actions by the Office of Civil Rights. As a practical matter, however, some states have permitted plaintiffs to essentially circumvent HIPAA's prohibition of a private right of action by allowing plaintiffs to use HIPAA as a standard of care in state law negligence claims. In such states, this trend will likely increase HIPAA-related liability for covered entities and business associates. However, some states will be reluctant to expand such liability via state law claims, especially in cases involving inadvertent disclosures with no allegation of an injury in fact....