 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Cannon v. Salt Lake Regional Medical Center8/25/2005
tutory privilege presents a question of law, which we review for correctness. See State v. Gomez, 2002 UT 120, , 63 P.3d 72 (reviewing trial court's interpretation and application of privilege afforded to victims of sexual assault as a question of law).
ANALYSIS
The Utah Supreme Court has stated that the general purpose of discovery is "to remove elements of surprise or trickery so the parties and the court can determine the facts and resolve the issues as directly, fairly and expeditiously as possible." Ellis v. Gilbert, 19 Utah 2d 189, 429 P.2d 39, 40 (1967). It has also indicated that the purpose of the rules of civil procedure pertaining to discovery "is to make procedure as simple and efficient as possible by eliminating any useless ritual, undue rigidities or technicalities which may have become engrafted in our law." Id. As a result, we construe statutes and rules concerning discovery liberally, in favor of permitting discovery.
In spite of the law's preference for liberal and open discovery, our law places several necessary limitations on discovery. See, e.g., Salt Lake Legal Defender Ass'n v. Uno, 932 P.2d 589 (Utah 1997) (attorney work product privilege); Madsen v. United Television, Inc., 801 P.2d 912 (Utah 1990) (official confidence privilege and common law executive privilege); State v. Gomez, 2002 UT 120, 63 P.3d 72 (statutory privilege for sexual assault victims). The Hospital argues that the statutory "care review" privilege found in Utah Code sections 26-25-1 and 26-25-3 protects its incident reports from discovery by the Cannons.
Section 26-25-3 provides:
All information, interviews, reports, statements, memoranda, or other data furnished by reason of this chapter, and any findings or conclusions resulting from those studies are privileged communications and are not subject to discovery, use, or receipt in evidence in any legal proceeding of any kind or character.
Utah Code Ann. § 26-25-3 (1998) (emphasis added). Section 26-25-3's broad protections extend to " ny person, health facility, or other organization" that provides "(a) information . . .; (b) interviews; (c) reports; (d) statements; (e) memoranda; and (f) other data relating to the condition and treatment of any person." Id. § 26-25-1(1). The protections apply to any of the specific organizations, committees, societies, and associations identified in subsection (2) of section 26-25-1, see id. § 26-25-1(2)(a)-(h), for any of the specific purposes listed in subsection (3) of section 26-25-1. See id. § 26-25-1(3)(a)-(b).
The Hospital argues that its incident reports are protected under the care review privilege because incident reports, and the information they contain, are provided to its Quality Assurance Department, an "in-house staff committee," id. § 26-15-1(2)(h), and the reports are provided for "the purpose of reducing morbidity or mortality; or . . . the evaluation and improvement of hospital and health care rendered by hospitals, health facilities, or health care providers," as section 26-25-1 requires. Id. § 26-25-1(3)(a)-(b) (emphasis added).
In an effort to establish that the care review privilege applies to its incident reports, the Hospital provided the trial court with the affidavit of Linda Wright, Risk Manager in the Quality Assurance Department at the Hospital. In her affidavit, Ms. Wright declared that (1) the Quality Assurance Department is responsible for collecting and evaluating incident reports for the purpose of assessing, evaluating, and improving the quality of health care rendered to patients at the Hospital; (2) incident reports are created specifically for submission to the Quality Assurance Depar
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 Utah Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|