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Image Credit: PEXELS
April 30, 2025 - 6:00 PM
A BC nurse, who sent his girlfriend a nude photo of himself while working a night shift at a hospital, has failed in his attempt to sue her after the couple separated and the photo found its way to his boss and he was suspended.
According to an April 24 BC Civil Resolution Tribunal, about a year after the nurse had sent the nude photo to his then-girlfriend and co-worker, someone made a complaint about his "inappropriate conduct" while at work.
An investigation was conducted and management was sent a copy of the photo of him naked at work.
The nurse was then suspended and put on probation.
In the decision, the nurse said his ex-girlfriend had to have been the one who shared the photo with management as only she and another former girlfriend had copies of the image.
He then filed a BC Civil Resolution Tribunal case arguing his ex had shared the photo and should pay him $5,000 compensation, the maximum amount allowed at the Tribunal.
While sharing an intimate image in Canada can result in a criminal conviction and jail, in 2024 BC passed the Intimate Images Protection Act allowing victims easier access to have the images removed and to sue for $5,000.
The nurse filed at the Tribunal and claimed sharing the image with his bosses was clearly a breach of the Intimate Images Protection Act.
However, the Tribunal didn't agree.
The Tribunal said a person had to have a "reasonable expectation of privacy" at the time the image was taken for it to be considered an "intimate image."
The nurse argued he was alone, on a work break, with a "do not disturb" sign on the door and he'd drawn the curtain.
READ MORE: BC man awarded $5,000 after intimate video posted online
"He says when he took the photo he placed a wooden door stopper in the door. He also said that because it was a night shift, the room was unlikely to be used, that all the patients were 'already hooked up' to their respective machines," the decision read.
Regardless of how quiet the room was, his ex-girlfriend argued he he'd broken numerous hospital policies by taking a photo of his genitals in a medical unit, at a public hospital, while on shift.
The nurse also said he suspected the photo could have been shared by the other ex-girlfriend he'd sent the photo to.
However, the Tribunal wasn't concerned with who sent the photo.
"I find that no matter who shared the image with the (nurse's) employer, it was in the public interest (to do so)," the Tribunal ruled.
"I find that the (nurse's) actions in taking the photo in a public hospital could reasonably be interpreted as indecent exhibition in a public place, contrary to... the Criminal Code. So, I find that, if the (ex-girlfriend) shared the image with the (nurse's) employer, it was in the public interest, and she is not liable for damages," the Tribunal ruled.
With that, the Tribunal dismissed his case.
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