In November of last year, the First Department of the Appellate Division in New York affirmed an order of the trial court denying the defendant’s motion to compel the plaintiff to produce particular medical authorizations that would have authorized the defendant to obtain certain medical records of plaintiff. The underlying contention of the plaintiff in this medical malpractice action was that the defendant’s negligence caused her child to be stillborn.
The plaintiff in this action claims physical injuries resulting from her hospitalization for the pregnancy, as well as emotional and psychological injuries subsequent to the stillborn birth of her child. Other than the injuries allegedly sustained during the hospitalization, the plaintiff is not claiming additional physical injuries. She claims no injuries for obstetrical work performed after the hospitalization. It is these records for which the defendant sought to compel the plaintiff to provide authorizations. In its ruling, the First Department stated that the defendant “failed to establish a particularized need” for the additional records, and thus affirmed the Supreme Court’s denial of the motion.
The First Department ruling can be found here.