Amente v. Newman

• Decision Date: 20 April 1995
• Docket Number: No. 83620,83620
• Citation: 653 So.2d 1030
• Parties: , 20 Fla. L. Weekly S172 Bernadette AMENTE, et al., Petitioners, v. Willie B. NEWMAN, M.D., et al., Respondents.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

Page 1030

653 So.2d 1030

63 USLW 2756, 20 Fla. L. Weekly S172

Bernadette AMENTE, et al., Petitioners, v. Willie B. NEWMAN, M.D., et al., Respondents.

No. 83620.

Supreme Court of Florida.

April 20, 1995.

H. Scott Bates of Morgan, Colling & Gilbert, P.A., Orlando, for petitioner.

Jennings L. Hurt III, Randall M. Bolinger and Michael V. Hammond of Rissman, Weisberg, Barrett, Hurt, Donahue & McLain, P.A., Orlando, for respondents.

GRIMES, Chief Justice.

We review Newman v. Amente, 634 So.2d 305 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994), because of its certified conflict with Amisub, Inc. v. Kemper, 543 So.2d 470 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989), and Ventimiglia ex rel. Ventimiglia v. Moffit, 502 So.2d 14 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986). We have jurisdiction under article V, section 3(b)(4) of the Florida Constitution.

Dr. Willie B. Newman treated Bernadette Amente during her prenatal period and the delivery of her minor child. Dr. Newman termed Amente's pregnancy high-risk because she weighed over 300 pounds. Dr. Newman opted to use a regular delivery bed rather than a drop-down delivery bed when Amente gave birth. The Amentes' child is now afflicted with Erb's palsy, a brachial plexus injury, which the Amentes allege resulted from Dr. Newman's negligent obstetrical care and treatment.

The Amentes sought discovery in the medical malpractice lawsuit they filed against Dr. Newman, requesting production of the complete medical records for all of Dr. Newman's "markedly obese" patients giving birth between January 1, 1989, and December 31, 1990. The Amentes specifically requested that all patient-identifying information be redacted (removed or blacked out) from the medical records prior to production. The trial judge granted the Amentes' request for production upon the condition that the Amentes reimburse Dr. Newman for the cost of retrieval and redaction of the records.

Dr. Newman petitioned the Fifth District Court of Appeal for a writ of certiorari to review the discovery order, asserting that the request was too burdensome and would force him to create records that do not now exist. Dr. Newman also asserted that the confidentiality of the patient and physician relationship would be invaded by the production of evidence not relevant to the lawsuit. The district court of appeal found that the discovery request was not burdensome and did not require the creation of new records. However, it held that the trial court erred when it ordered production of the records because (1) the request did not comply with section 455.241, Florida Statutes (1991), (2) the Amentes had failed to show that the patient records were relevant and that the relevancy outweighed the patients' statutory right to confidentiality of their medical files, and (3) the order violated the patients' constitutional rights to be free from governmental intrusion into their private lives, as set forth in article I, section 23, of the Florida Constitution. The court granted the writ and quashed the discovery order.

In Amisub, the Fourth District Court of Appeal denied a petition for writ of common law certiorari which sought to set aside an order compelling the defendant doctor to produce copies of the records of other patients who underwent certain specified procedures on the same day as the plaintiff's decedent. Amisub, 543 So.2d at 470. In Ventimiglia, the same court denied a petition for writ of certiorari seeking to vacate an order compelling a physician-witness to produce the records of other patients who had been treated for conditions similar to that suffered by the claimant. Ventimiglia, 502 So.2d at 14. In each case, the trial court had ordered that the records be redacted in order to protect the patients' identities.

While the Fourth District Court of Appeal has allowed discovery of a non-party's medical records, the Second and Third District Courts of Appeal have held that such records are not discoverable. See Leikensohn v. Cornwell, 434 So.2d 1030 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983) (medical malpractice defendant could not be compelled to answer interrogatory requesting non-party patient's initials, date of surgery, and name of hospital where surgery was performed); North Miami Gen. Hosp. v. Royal Palm Beach Colony, Inc., 397 So.2d 1033, 1035 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981) (hospital was not required to answer interrogatory concerning hospitalization records of patients not involved in the suit because it would "impermissibly compromise their right to the confidentiality of their medical records"); Teperson v. Donato, 371 So.2d 703, 704 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979) (order requiring production of non-party's medical records was error because the question in medical malpractice is whether the doctor used a standard of care commensurate with that used in the community, and this question can be answered by methods other than invading the medical records of strangers); Argonaut Ins. Co. v. Peralta, 358 So.2d 232, 233 (Fla. 3d DCA), cert. denied, 364 So.2d 889 (Fla.1978) (order requiring production of medical records and photographs of persons not party to the suit was error because "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").

We first address the Amentes' argument regarding the applicability of the notice requirement in section 455.241(2). Section 455.241(2) provides in pertinent part:

Such [medical] records may not be furnished to, and the medical condition of a patient may not be discussed with, any person other than the patient or [the patient's] legal representative or other health care providers involved in the care and treatment of the patient, except upon written authorization of the patient.... Such records may be furnished in any civil or criminal action, unless otherwise prohibited by law, upon the issuance of a subpoena from a court of competent jurisdiction and proper notice to the patient or his legal representative by the party seeking such records. Except in a medical negligence action when a health care provider is or reasonably expects to be named a defendant, information disclosed to a health care practitioner by a patient in the course of the care and treatment of the patient is confidential and may be disclosed only to other health care providers involved in the care and treatment of the patient, or if permitted by written authorization of the patient or compelled...