Does a patient waive doctor-patient privilege by bringing an action for personal injury or medical malpractice?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Heller v. Norcal Mutual Ins. Co., 32 Cal.Rptr.2d 200, 8 Cal.4th 30, 876 P.2d 999 (Cal. 1994):
As we have seen, a patient makes a limited waiver of the doctor-patient privilege by bringing an action for personal injury or medical malpractice. During the course of such litigation, the defendants have a right to discover any information in the possession of the plaintiff's treating physicians that is directly relevant to matters at issue and essential to their fair resolution. Thus, the question is not whether relevant information must be disclosed, but the method of such disclosure. (See Manion v. N.P.W. Medical Center (M.D.Pa.1987) 676 F.Supp. 585, 593 ["... the prohibition against unauthorized ex parte contacts ... affects defense counsel's methods, not the substance of what is discoverable"].)
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