Not sure where this belongs but will ask here.
My friend had a baby over the weekend and ontop of a shitload of badluck (the baby passed away) the baby's father gave his stepmother the tape which he recorded the birth on. Now his family will not give her the tape until they make copies. It has her privates on it and she really does not want copies floating about without her permission. She doesn't want anything to do with the family and she already has a lawsuit pending on the hospital, but she wonders if she has grounds to take them to court and if she should. Its was her boyfriends property, but it is her in the video.
2007-03-23 04:43:49 · 4 answers · asked by Chelle's Belle 4 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
the lawsuit was started awhile ago for malpractice when she had a "miscarriage" a month before she got pregnant again.
2007-03-23 05:08:02 · update #1
Hard to say for sure, but I'm sorry to hear all that she's gone through. If the family had any respect for her loss, they would give the tape back immediately. I think she should contact a lawyer, and see if there are any legal avenues that she can pursue.
2007-03-23 05:00:38 · answer #1 · answered by Souris 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't think your friend has a case.First, the tape wasn't her property, secondly, if she gave her consent to have her birth taped, she probably has less ground to stand on.
If she was truly concerned about anybody seeing her "privates" then why would she agree to have her birth filmed? I can almost guarantee there wasn't any written agreement as to what should be done with the tape. It boils down to a he said she said issue, in court it doesn't matter what you know it's what you can prove.
Another issue is that the stepmother isn't refusing to give the tape back, she just wants to make copies of it and will return it after, that is the impression I get.
Lastly, even if your friend gets the tape back, how do you know other copies haven't been made and distributed? She wouldn't be able to prove it anyway.
The only chance your friend has, is if she didn't give her consent, then she could try and sue for invasion of privacy, however, if she gave her consent then all bets are off. But it never hurts to consult an attorney.
2007-03-23 13:29:51 · answer #2 · answered by evil_paul 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's a tough claim to win. I doubt she has a right to the tape herself because it was never her property to begin with. And as long as she consented to the the taping at the time, I doubt she has a claim against that family. And even if she didn't, I think the tape is his, though there may be a claim there based on the fact that she was basically in private with her doctors.
But she may try for an injunction to prevent the dissemination of the contents of the tape based on the embarrasment of having other people view it and corresponding psychological harm based on the dead baby, etc.
2007-03-23 12:37:19 · answer #3 · answered by Andy P 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
impossible
if she had the baby over the weekend there is NO WAY she could have a lawsuit pending already
but anyway - don't know the answer to the question, but the family is acting in very poor taste if they won't give her the tape
2007-03-23 12:00:58 · answer #4 · answered by BigD 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋