Cannon v. Salt Lake Regional Medical Center

• Decision Date: 25 August 2005
• Docket Number: No. 20040486-CA.,20040486-CA.
• Citation: 2005 UT App 352,121 P.3d 74
• Parties: Katheryn CANNON, as surviving spouse of Gary R. Cannon, deceased; and Lane Cannon and Roland Cannon, as surviving children and legal heirs of Gary R. Cannon, deceased, Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. SALT LAKE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER, INC.; John and Jane Does I through X; and Doe Business Entities I through V, Defendants and Appellees.
• Court: Utah Supreme Court

Page 74

121 P.3d 74

2005 UT App 352

Katheryn CANNON, as surviving spouse of Gary R. Cannon, deceased; and Lane Cannon and Roland Cannon, as surviving children and legal heirs of Gary R. Cannon, deceased, Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. SALT LAKE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER, INC.; John and Jane Does I through X; and Doe Business Entities I through V, Defendants and Appellees.

No. 20040486-CA.

Court of Appeals of Utah.

August 25, 2005.

Douglas G. Mortensen, Matheson Mortensen Olsen Jeppson PC, Salt Lake City, for Appellants.

David W. Slagle, Elizabeth L. Willey, and Bradley R. Blackham, Snow Christensen & Martineau, Salt Lake City, for Appellees.

Before Judges BILLINGS,¹ BENCH, and ORME.

OPINION

ORME, Judge:

¶ 1 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).² We reverse and remand.

BACKGROUND³

¶ 2 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.

¶ 3 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.

¶ 4 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.⁴

¶ 5 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

¶ 6 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.⁵

¶ 7 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,¶ 16, 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 statutory privilege presents a question of law, which we review for correctness. See State v. Gomez, 2002 UT 120,¶ 11, 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

¶ 8 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.

¶ 9 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.

¶ 10 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 "[a]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).

¶ 11 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 ... [for] 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).

¶ 12 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 Department; (3) the Quality Assurance Department requires staff at the Hospital to fill out incident reports for all unusual occurrences; (4) the Quality Assurance Department reviews all incident reports created for the specific purpose of evaluating and improving health care at the Hospital; (5) incident reports are necessary and critical to the care review work the Quality Assurance Department performs; (6) incident reports are not created or used for any purpose other than to evaluate and improve health care at the Hospital; and (7) incident reports are not included as part of a patient's medical records.

¶ 13 The trial court determined that, based on Ms. Wright's affidavit, and "[i]n the absence of any evidence to the contrary," the incident reports are privileged under the statute. The Cannons argue, however, that Ms. Wright's assertions in her affidavit alone are an inadequate basis for finding that the Hospital's incident reports fall under the care review privilege. They argue instead that, at the very least, the documents for which the Hospital claims the privilege should have been submitted to the trial court for the court's in camera review. The Hospital, on the other hand, argues that Ms. Wright's uncontested affidavit establishes that its incident reports squarely fit within the statutory language and are, therefore, privileged under the care review provisions and "not subject to discovery, use, or receipt in evidence in any legal proceeding of any kind or character." Id. § 26-25-3. It argues that, despite the Cannons' claim to the contrary, Utah law does not require any corroborating evidence beyond Ms. Wright's affidavit, nor did the court err by not requesting additional corroborating evidence or by not conducting an in camera review of the reports.

¶ 14 The Utah Supreme Court has specifically addressed, or interpreted, the care review privilege in only one limited circumstance, see Benson v. I.H.C. Hosps. Inc., 866 P.2d 537 (Uta...