Women who stabbed pencils in eyes during suicide attempt sues Los Angeles County over photo

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – A woman who stabbed pencils in her eyes during a suicide attempt is suing Los Angeles County, claiming her photo was snapped at a hospital and went viral online.

The suit was filed Monday by the guardian of the woman, who survived her suicide attempt but was blinded.

City News Service says the suit claims unauthorized disclosure of medical information.

The woman, identified only as Jane Doe, was admitted to County-USC Medical Center about 2 1/2 years ago. The suit says someone, believed to be a nurse, took an unauthorized photo of her with pencils in her eyes and shared it with someone who posted it to the Internet, where it’s been viewed some 200,000 times.

Spokesman David Sommers says the county doesn’t commenting on pending lawsuits.

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