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Weil v. Dillon Companies1/24/2005
RULE MADE ABSOLUTE
EN BANC
Opinion modified, and as modified, Petition for Rehearing DENIED.
JUSTICE KOURLIS does not participate
In this original proceeding, we review the trial court's order that the plaintiff in a personal injury action, Dr. Jerry Weil, release all of his medical records from certain healthcare providers to the defendant, Dillon Companies, Inc., without first determining whether the records requested were related to the cause and extent of the injuries and damages claimed in this suit. We issued a rule to show cause and make the rule absolute.
Our precedent instructs that generic claims for pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of quality of life do not constitute an implied waiver of the physician-patient privilege. Thus, we hold that the plaintiff here did not waive his physician-patient privilege for medical records wholly unrelated to his injuries and damages claimed. In making the rule absolute, we vacate the trial court's order that Weil authorize blanket releases of all his medical records. Upon remand, if Dillon Companies requests medical records related to the damages and injuries sustained by Weil, and he objects, then the trial court in its discretion may direct discovery of those records if it finds the records to be related to the cause and extent of the injuries claimed. However, Dillon Companies is not entitled to his medical records based solely on Weil's generic, garden variety claims, of pain and suffering and loss of quality of life.
Facts and Proceedings Below
Dr. Jerry Weil, petitioner, is the plaintiff in a personal injury case. On August 17, 2002, Weil was purchasing groceries at a City Market grocery store owned by the defendant, Dillon Companies, Inc., when he slipped and fell in the store's produce section. As a result of the fall, Weil suffered several injuries including a fractured pelvis, a fractured sacrum (tail-bone), and a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder. Weil sued Dillon Companies both to recover his medical expenses associated with these injuries and to obtain non-economic damages for "pain and suffering, inconvenience, impairment of quality of life, inability to engage in his normal activities, permanent physical impairment, and past and future economic losses." Trial had been scheduled for December 20, 2004.
During pretrial discovery, Weil provided Dillon Companies with medical records, reports, and bills covering the period of time from the date of the accident through July 24, 2003. On July 1, 2004, Dillon Companies provided Weil with its First Set of Pattern and Non-Pattern Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents. The interrogatories asked about the specifics of Weil's injuries as well as any prior injuries and hospitalizations. This request also asked Weil to sign and execute blanket releases for medical records from fourteen healthcare providers not already disclosed to Dillon Companies. Records included in the release form were psychiatric consultation reports, angiograms, physicals, and pathology reports as well as numerous other reports and documents for treatments received since 2000. Weil was effectively asked to disclose all of his medical records from these various healthcare providers, not just those records related to the injuries and damages he suffered as a result of the accident at issue.
In Weil's responses to the interrogatories, he stated that he suffered anxiety over a misdiagnosis from one of the injuries as well as developed a fear of falling since the accident. With respect to the release request, he objected to authorizing blanket releases of his medical records to Dillon Companie
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