BOSTON -- A Boston man said his right to privacy was broken and now he's suing his hospital and doctor for negligence.

Man Says Doctor Told Boss Of HIV Status

NewsCenter 5's Kelley Tuthill reported that the man, who did not use his name, is HIV positive and that information was accidentally given to his boss. The man said the mistake has been devastating.

"I let everyone in triage know that nobody knew ... that absolutely nobody knew," he said.

The man said he was adamant when he checked into Caritas St. Elizabeth's emergency room in 2005 that his HIV status must remain private. He said he then heard Dr. Angela Sweeny talking to his boss.

"I thought maybe I'd imagined it ... hoped I'd imagined it," he said.

He said the doctor denied it at first, but then admitted telling his boss.

"She shut the door and she told me that she had in fact told my boss and that she thought he was a neurologist," he said. "And I was just my whole world was changed that very second."

NewsCenter 5 tried to talk to the doctor about the allegations, but a spokeswoman for Caritas St. Elizabeth said the hospital had no comment on the case.

The man's lawyer showed NewsCenter 5 a letter from St. Elizabeth's that read, in part, that they are "very sorry" for the "unintentional disclosure."

"The law protects information and guarantees the public their HIV information will be protected. And if that doesn't happen, people won't be tested, and then HIV will spread," said attorney David Nielson.

Nielson said his client is pushing for better training and policies to make sure this doesn't happen again.

"The worst day of my life was the day I was diagnosed with HIV. And probably the second worst day was the day it was disclosed," the man said.