Christina M. Paylan, M.D. v. Timothy J. Fitzgerald, Esq.

223 So. 3d 431, 2017 WL 2988891, 2017 Fla. App. LEXIS 10130
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedJuly 14, 2017
DocketCase 2D17-2071
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 223 So. 3d 431 (Christina M. Paylan, M.D. v. Timothy J. Fitzgerald, Esq.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Christina M. Paylan, M.D. v. Timothy J. Fitzgerald, Esq., 223 So. 3d 431, 2017 WL 2988891, 2017 Fla. App. LEXIS 10130 (Fla. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

BADALAMENTI, Judge

Dr. Christina Paylan seeks certiorari review of an interlocutory discovery order which directs her, in part, to produce confidential medical information to Respondents, Timothy Fitzgerald and Farmer & Fitzgerald, P.A. Because the trial court’s order departs from the essential requirements of the law and causes irreparable •harm by failing to comply with the substantive notice and authorization requirements set forth in section 456.057(7)(a), Florida Statutes (2016), we grant the petition and quash the order on review with respect to interrogatory number 8. '

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In the underlying litigation, Dr. Paylan filed a complaint against Respondents, alleging legal malpractice, among other things, with respect to their representation *433 of her in several criminal cases. In case number ll-CF-8930 the State charged Dr. Paylan with two counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and one count of possession of a controlled substance, Demerol. Dr. Paylan allegedly wrote three unlawful prescriptions for Demerol to patient, “L.B.” L.B. denied that she authorized Dr. Paylan to obtain a controlled substance in her name or that she had any medical procedure scheduled with Dr. Pay-lan that required the use of Demerol. Ultimately, those criminal charges were dismissed.

In the context of the legal malpractice litigation, Respondents served Dr. Paylan with interrogatories. ' In interrogatory number 8, they asked Dr. Paylan to “[l]ist all the procedures and dates the procedures were performed or were scheduled to be performed that required [her] to use Demerol on patient LB between May 20, 2011 and June 30, 2011.” Dr.' Paylan objected to the interrogatory, arguing that responding to it would cause her to violate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) 1 unless Respondents first obtained a release from L.B. for the requested confidential medical information. Dr. Paylan argued that Respondents should be required to contact L.B.’s attorney or L.B. to obtain authorization for release of the information. If they did so, she would release “whatever information she had.” The trial court found the information requested by Respondents to be relevant to the issues in the legal malpractice case, overruled Dr. Paylaris objection, and ordered her to respond to the interrogatory within twenty-five days. 'It further provided in its order that “[t]he records shall remain under seal and not released to anyone except counsel of record, the parties themselves or any expert.”

II. THE ARGUMENTS ON REVIEW

In her petition, Dr. Paylan argues that the trial court departed from the essential requirements of the law and caused irreparable harm by ordering her to release L.B.’s confidential medical information without (1) requiring an authorization for release or (2) providing L.B. with notice and an opportunity to be heard before the information was disclosed. In addition to citing HIPAA, she cites to section 456.057 in support of her position. She requests that we quash the trial court’s order with respect to interrogatory number 8.

Respondents point out that L.B. was interviewed and deposed on multiple occasions in the context of both the criminal case and a medical license proceeding against Dr. Paylan. In every instance, L.B. denied that she had any medical treatment scheduled with Dr. Paylan during June 2011 that would have required the use of Demerol. Furthermore, in a November 18, 2011, e-mail to Mr. Fitzgerald, Dr, Paylan stated that L.B. had consented to the release of her medical records.

Respondents argue that the information they sought in interrogatory number 8 is relevant to their defense of the legal malpractice case because Dr. Paylan must' allege and prove that she is actually innocent of the criminal charges from which her legal malpractice claim originated. See Cira v. Dillinger, 903 So.2d 367, 370-71 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005). As prior counsel of record in the criminal case, Respondents have some, but not all, of L.B.’s medical records. They also seek Dr. Paylan’s disclosure of any procedures that were scheduled to be performed on L.B. during May and June 2011—contrary to L.B.’s testimony—that required the use of Demerol. Respondents also point out that the trial court protected L.B.’s privacy by redacting *434 her name and by limiting the use of the information to review by counsel of record, the parties, and their experts. Accordingly, Respondents request that the petition be denied.

III. ANALYSIS

To be entitled to certiorari relief with respect to an interlocutory order, a petitioner must establish that the order departs from the essential requirements of the law resulting in material injury for the remainder of the case that cannot 'be remedied on direct appeal. Trucap Grantor Tr. 2010-1 v. Pelt, 84 So.3d 369, 371 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012). Orders that require disclosure of confidential medical information meet the irreparable harm requirement for certiorari review because once such information is improperly disclosed, the harm caused by that disclosure cannot be undone. USAA Cas. Ins. Co. v. Callery, 66 So.3d 315, 316 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011). We must thus determine whether the trial court’s order departs from the essential requirements of the law.

HIPAA only preempts state laws relating to substantive privacy rights concerning individually identifiable health information which are less stringent than HIPAA’s privacy protections. 45 C.F.R. § 160.203(b) (2013); see also Lemieux v. Tandem Health Care of Fla., Inc., 862 So.2d 745, 748 n.1 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003). Because HIPAA permits disclosure of “protected health information in the course of any judicial or administrative proceeding ... [i]n response to an order of a court” without notice or authorization, it appears that section 456.057(7)(a) provides greater protection than HIPAA in this context so long as the subpoena is accompanied by an order of a court. Compare 45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e)(1)(i) (2013), with (e)(1)(ii). Accordingly, we must determine whether the trial court’s order complies with the requirements of section 456.057.

Section 456,057(7) provides in pertinent part as follows:

(7)(a)' Except as otherwise provided in this section and in s. 440.13(4)(c), such records may not be furnished to, and the medical condition of a patient may not be discussed with, any person other than the patient, the patient’s legal representative, or other health care practitioners and providers involved in the' patient’s care or treatment, except upon written authorization from the patient. However, such records may be furnished without written authorization under the following circumstances:
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3.. 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 the patient’s legal representative by the party seeking such records.

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223 So. 3d 431, 2017 WL 2988891, 2017 Fla. App. LEXIS 10130, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/christina-m-paylan-md-v-timothy-j-fitzgerald-esq-fladistctapp-2017.