“Madison, Wis. (AP) A used computer sold by the state contained detailed medical records of more than 600 people, a legislator says. State Rep. Marlin D. Schneider said the Wisconsin Coalition Against...

“Madison, Wis. (AP) A used computer sold by the state contained detailed medical records of more than 600 people, a legislator says. State Rep. Marlin D. Schneider said the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault purchased the computer as state surplus property for $20. When the coalition’s executive director discovered the records from a clinic, she began erasing them, then decided to make a copy of the rest and turned about 500 names and data over to Schneider. She then erased all the original records. ‘I don’t want any patients upset or to suffer any distress because their records are public,’ he said. ‘It could create a [liability] problem for the state. The agency itself needs protection.’ . . . [T]here is a law against ‘knowing and willful’ release of such information, but the statute is weak. You have to have a showing that there was a willing disregard.” Was there a willing disregard?