 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Weil v. Dillon Companies1/24/2005
s. Weil claimed that these records were for treatments unrelated to the injuries and damages claimed in this suit and thus subject to the physician-patient privilege. Moreover, the filing of the lawsuit did not waive this privilege. In other words, Dillon Companies' records request amounted to an unlimited release of Weil's medical history and the physician-patient privilege shielded records of unrelated medical conditions or treatments from disclosure.
Dillon Companies then filed a motion with the trial court to compel Weil to authorize blanket releases of all of his medical records from fourteen healthcare providers to Dillon Companies' attorneys. The trial court issued an initial order stating that he would not allow a claim for damages where "the defendant was denied record access by the failure of plaintiff to execute appropriate waivers." Dillon Companies then filed a Motion for Clarification. The trial court's order on this motion required Weil to issue "appropriate releases" of his medical records so that Dillon Companies could know the quality of Weil's life prior to being injured in the fall, otherwise the court would limit non-economic damages to what "an ordinary person would likely experience in similar circumstances" (quoting Johnson v. Trujillo, 977 P.2d 152, 157 (Colo. 1999)) (emphasis in trial court's order).
We issued a rule to show cause as to why Weil should be required to authorize blanket releases of his medical records or be limited in the amount of non-economic damages he could recover. We now make the rule absolute.
I.
This court has original jurisdiction to review whether a trial court abused its discretion in circumstances where a remedy on appeal would be inadequate. C.A.R. 21; Hoffman v. Brookfield Republic, Inc., 87 P.3d 858, 861 (Colo. 2004); Johnson, 977 P.2d at 154; Kourlis v. Dist. Court, 930 P.2d 1329, 1330 n. 1 (Colo. 1997). If Weil's medical records are protected by the physician-patient privilege provided by state statute, "then the damage to will occur upon the disclosure of the records" despite the ultimate outcome of his personal injury action. Johnson, 977 P.2d at 154 (quoting Clark v. Dist. Court, 668 P.2d 3, 7 (Colo. 1983)). Hence, we find it appropriate to address the validity of the trial court's order in this original proceeding. See Hoffman, 87 P.3d at 861; Johnson, 977 P.2d at 154; and Clark, 668 P.2d at 7.
II.
We begin our analysis with a discussion of the statutory physician-patient privilege as it applies to requests for pre-trial discovery. Section 13-90-107, C.R.S. (2004), vests the patient with the power to prevent a treating physician from disclosing information obtained in the course of treatment.
Johnson, 977 P.2d at 154. The purpose behind the physician-patient privilege is "to enhance the effective diagnosis and treatment of illness by protecting the patient from the embarrassment and humiliation that might be caused" through disclosure of that information. Hoffman, 87 P.3d at 861 (quoting Clark, 668 P.2d at 8). Once attached, this privilege applies "equally to in-court testimony and to pretrial discovery of information." Hoffman, 87 P.3d at 861. Thus, upon attachment of the privilege, "the only basis for authorizing a disclosure of the confidential information is by express or implied waiver." Id. at 862 (quoting Clark, 668 P.2d at 9).
A party seeking to overcome this privilege bears the burden of establishing waiver. Johnson, 977 P.2d at 155. A plaintiff does not impliedly waive this privilege "merely by seeking damages under a generic claim of mental suffering which is incidental to the physical injuries underlying the suit."
Hoffman,
Page 1 2 3 4 5 Colorado Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|