Civil penalties for unlawful use or disclosure

(a)(1) A person who negligently uses or discloses health and human services information in a manner not authorized by this chapter or other District law shall be liable in an amount of $500 for each violation. (2) For the purposes of this subsection, the term “negligently” means that a person guided by ordinary considerations should have known, and by exercising reasonable diligence would have known, that the use or disclosure was not authorized. (b) A person who willfully uses or discloses health and human services information in a manner not authorized by this chapter or other District law shall be liable in an amount of $1,000 for each violation. (c) This section shall not apply to disclosures of information authorized pursuant to other District law or to federal law.