JAMES W. MCCANN, JR., M.D., INDIVIDUALLY, AND DOCTORS BENTON & MCCANN, P.A., PETITIONERS,
v.
LAURIE FOISY, RESPONDENT
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Dr. McCann sought to quash a discovery order requiring him to disclose names and contact information of other patients who had similar conditions or filed malpractice claims. The appellate court held that compelling discovery of third-party patient information in medical malpractice cases violates privacy principles and is not necessary to prove the standard of care.
The discovery order was improper and quashed. While a patient's medical history becomes subject to discovery in a medical malpractice suit, injecting medical information of third-party patients into the public record to establish physician competency violates privacy interests and is unconscionable when alternative methods of proof exist.
[1] A medical malpractice plaintiff waives the privilege regarding their own medical history, but this does not permit the invasion of medical records of strangers to the sui…
[2] Discovery orders compelling the disclosure of medical information of patients unrelated to the litigation may constitute a departure from the essential requirements of la…
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“to permit a party to inject into the public record medical information of a stranger to the suit, under the guise that it has a bearing on the competency of the doctor, would be unconscionable. The question in medical malpractice is whether or not the doctor, in treating the plaintiff, used a standard of care commensurate with that used in the community and that question can be answered by utilizing other methods of proof than the invasion into medical records of strangers.”
Establishes the core principle that third-party patient privacy cannot be breached for discovery in medical malpractice cases when alternative proof methods exist.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDr. McCann, an ophthalmologist, was sued by Foisy for failure to properly diagnose and treat bilateral detached retina. The trial court ordered Dr. Mc…
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DOWNEY, Judge.
By petition for writ of certiorari, Dr. James McCann seeks to quash an interlocutory order of the trial court compelling discovery of information pertaining to certain other patients of Dr. McCann in a medical malpractice action.
Respondent filed suit alleging that petitioner (an ophthalmologist) and others failed to diagnose and treat her bilateral detached retina properly. Pursuant to respondent’s request, the trial court ordered petitioner to [provide]:
Plaintiffs counsel with the names, addresses and telephone numbers of patients, for visits three years prior to his examination of LORIE [sic] FOISY on March 1,1983 to two years thereafter for patients that fall into the following categories:
(a) patients that the Defendants diagnosed as having the same condition for which the Defendants diagnosed the Plaintiff; (b) patients that the Defendants diagnosed as having the same or similar complaints as those of the Plaintiff; (c) patients which were diagnosed by the Defendants as having detached retina; and (d) patients that filed medical malpractice claims or litigation against the Defendants.
Petitioner contends that the order under consideration is a departure from the essential requirements of law, which will cause injury that would be irreparable on plenary appeal. We agree.
The general rule applicable to the present case is set forth in Argonaut Ins. Co. v. Peralta, 358 So. 2d 232, 233 (Fla.3d), cert. denied, 364 So. 2d 889 (Fla.1978), wherein the court said:
Surely when one brings a medical malpractice suit, such as the instant case, one’s medical history becomes the subject matter of the suit and he would waive any claim to privilege he might have under the law, if any. However, to permit a party to inject into the public record medical information of a stranger to the suit, under the guise that it has a bearing on the competency of the doctor, would be unconscionable. The question in medical malpractice is whether or not the doctor, in treating the plaintiff, used a standard of care commensurate with that used in the community and that question can be answered by utilizing other methods of proof than the invasion into medical records of strangers.
See also North Broward Hospital District v. Lucas, 448 So. 2d 622 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984); Fidelity & Cas. Co. of New York v. Lopez, 375 So. 2d 59 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979); Teperson v. Donato, 371 So. 2d 703 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979).
Respondent relies upon Ventimiglia v. Moffitt, 502 So. 2d 14 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986), and Amisub (North Ridge Hospital), Inc. v. Kemper, 543 So. 2d 470 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989), to support the order in question. However, those cases are distinguishable because either their peculiar facts made the diagnosis in other cases relevant to the plaintiff’s claim or the trial court order provided that any possible reference to the identity of the patients was to be deleted from the records and protected from discovery.
We also held that, under the facts of this case, respondent cannot rely upon section 455.241, Florida Statutes (1987), as authority for the order in question. Accordingly, the petition for writ of certiorari is granted and the order under review is quashed.
HERSEY, C.J., and DELL, J., concur.
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Cited By
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Arlene Haywood, M.D. v. Samai, 624 So. 2d 1154 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993)…ubstitute the following: We grant the petition for "writ of common law certiorari in this malpractice action because the trial court departed from the essential requirements of law and there is no adequate remedy on appeal. Citing McCann v. Foisy, 552 So. 2d 341 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989), as well as other cases, petitioners argue that the trial court erred in granting plaintiffs’ motion to compel production of the defendant doctor’s appointment book containing nonparty patient names and telephone numbers. Accordi…
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Slim-Fast Foods Co. & Thompson Med. Co., Inc. v. Brockmeyer, 627 So. 2d 104 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993)…v., Inc., 500 So. 2d 533 (Fla.1987), would be involved in the identification of the nonparty patients in Springer as drug addicts or dealers. . Nonparty patients' records are generally not discoverable in medical malpractice cases. McCann v. Foisy, 552 So. 2d 341 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989). . In Stall v. State, 570 So. 2d 257 (Fla.1990), cert. denied, - U.S. -, 111 S.Ct. 2888, 115 L.Ed.2d 1054 (1991), the Supreme Court explained that the right to privacy does not attach unless the individual first has a legitimate…
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James A. Staman, M.D. v. Lipman, 641 So. 2d 453 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994)…r the doctor used a standard of care commensurate with community standards, and the disclosure of the identity of nonparty patients constitutes an invasion of their privacy. See Haywood v. Samai, 624 So. 2d 1154 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993); McCann v. Foisy, 552 So. 2d 341 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989); Argonaut Insurance Co. v. Peralta, 358 So. 2d 232 (Fla. 3d DCA), cert. denied, 364 So. 2d 889 (Fla.1978). Hospital emergency room patient sign-in logs were deemed discoverable in Big Sun Healthcare Systems, Inc. v. Prescott, 58…
Authorities Cited
- Argonaut Ins. Co. v. Peralta, 358 So. 2d 232 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978)
- Fid. & Cas. Co. OF NEW York v. Lopez, 375 So. 2d 59 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979)
- Ventimiglia v. Ventimiglia and Salvatore Ventimiglia, 502 So. 2d 14 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986)
- David S. Teperson, M. D., Drs. Jose & Teperson, P. A. v. Donato, 371 So. 2d 703 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)
- Amisub (North Ridge Hospital), Inc. v. Marlyn J. Kemper, 543 So. 2d 470 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989)
- N. Broward Hosp. Dist. v. Keven J. Lucas, 448 So. 2d 622 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984)