Q: Hospital liability for fake identities in medical records

A: The best resource for this information would be California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI). See Series 500 at https://www.justia.com/trials-litigation/docs/caci/500/

A: There are some general legal principles and regulations that could potentially apply in such a situation:

- California Health and Safety Code Section 1280.15 requires hospitals to maintain accurate and complete medical records for patients. Creating records under fake identities would likely violate this requirement.

- Under common law principles of negligence, a hospital could potentially be liable if its failure to maintain accurate records under real identities caused foreseeable harm to a patient. The patient would need to show the fake records caused them injury.

- Federal HIPAA regulations (45 CFR Parts 160, 162, and 164) require hospitals to implement safeguards to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of protected health information (PHI). Fake identities in records could be seen as failing to maintain record integrity.

- California's Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA) (Civil Code Sections 56-56.37) requires hospitals to maintain confidentiality of patient records. One could argue fake names undermine confidentiality protections.

So while there doesn't appear to be a statute specifically about fake identities, a hospital could face liability under broader principles requiring accurate, confidential record-keeping if a patient was harmed. The specific facts would determine if the hospital was ultimately liable. Consultation with a California health law attorney would be advisable for a detailed analysis.