A New Jersey appeals court reinstated a patient confidentiality suit against Morristown Medical Center, but the judges declined a call to raise the bar on a hospital’s duty to protect patient privacy.

At issue is whether the hospital is subject to absolute liability for the actions of a nurse who allegedly accessed the room and medical records of a patient not under her care. When Marc Cooper suffered a drug overdose in January 2017 at the home of Marian Lee, who was renting him a room, he was brought to Morristown Medical Center, where Lee happened to work as an emergency room nurse.