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Cannon v. Salt Lake Regional Medical Center8/25/2005
For Official Publication
Before Judges Billings, Bench, and Orme.
This is an interlocutory appeal from the denial of Katheryn, Lane, and Roland Cannon's (collectively, "the Cannons") motion to compel the discovery of any "unusual occurrence reports" or "incident reports," (collectively, "incident reports") in the possession of Salt Lake Regional Medical Center, Inc., (the Hospital) relating to the treatment and care of Gary R. Cannon. The trial court determined that the Hospital's incident reports related to this matter are privileged and, therefore, not discoverable under the "care review" provisions of Utah Code sections 26-25-1 and 26-25-3. See Utah Code Ann. §§ 26-25-1, -3 (1998). We reverse and remand.
BACKGROUND
The Cannons brought the present lawsuit seeking damages arising out of the Hospital's care of Gary R. Cannon and his subsequent death. The Cannons allege that the Hospital provided negligent medical care to Mr. Cannon during his stay at the Hospital from May 16 through May 21, 2001. Specifically, the Cannons allege that on May 18, 2001, Mr. Cannon suffered a subdural hematoma when he fell in his hospital room. Three days later, Mr. Cannon died.
In their first set of requests for production of documents, the Cannons included a request for any incident reports created in connection with Mr. Cannon's fall and subsequent treatment. The Hospital objected to the Cannons' request for any existing incident reports on the ground that its incident reports are privileged and, therefore, not discoverable under Utah Code sections 26-25-1 and 26-25-3. See Utah Code Ann. §§ 26-25-1, -3 (1998). The Cannons then filed a motion to compel the production of any incident reports tied to Mr. Cannon's alleged fall at the Hospital.
The Hospital opposed the motion to compel by again invoking the protection of the "care review" privilege available under sections 26-25-1 and 26-25-3. The Hospital supported its claim that its incident reports are privileged with the affidavit of Linda Wright, Risk Manager in the Quality Assurance Department at the Hospital. The trial court heard arguments and denied the Cannons' motion to compel. The trial court concluded that, based on the affidavit of Linda Wright, and absent any evidence to the contrary, the incident reports are privileged.
The Cannons petitioned the Utah Supreme Court to permit an interlocutory appeal from the trial court's order denying their motion to compel. Pursuant to statute, the Supreme Court transferred the petition to this court. See Utah Code Ann. § 78-2-2(4) (2002). We granted the Cannons permission to appeal the interlocutory order.
ISSUE AND STANDARDS OF REVIEW
We must determine whether the trial court properly denied the Cannons' motion to compel, which turns on its conclusion that the incident reports they seek are protected from discovery under sections 26-25-1 and 26-25-3. No other issue is properly before us on this interlocutory appeal.
The trial court's decision to deny the Cannons' motion to compel is reviewed under an abuse of discretion standard. See Pack v. Case, 2001 UT App 232, , 30 P.3d 436, cert. denied, 40 P.3d 1135 (Utah 2001). Thus, "the trial court is granted broad latitude in handling discovery matters," R&R Energies v. Mother Earth Indus., Inc., 936 P.2d 1068, 1079 (Utah 1997), and we "will not find abuse of discretion absent an erroneous conclusion of law or where there is no evidentiary basis for the trial court's ruling." Askew v. Hardman, 918 P.2d 469, 472 (Utah 1996). However, the trial court's conclusion that the incident reports are not subject to discovery because of a sta
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