STATE EX REL. CHARLES TOWN HOSP. v. Sanders

556 S.E.2d 85
CourtWest Virginia Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 9, 2001
Docket29770
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 556 S.E.2d 85 (STATE EX REL. CHARLES TOWN HOSP. v. Sanders) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering West Virginia Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
STATE EX REL. CHARLES TOWN HOSP. v. Sanders, 556 S.E.2d 85 (W. Va. 2001).

Opinion

556 S.E.2d 85 (2001)
210 W.Va. 118

STATE of West Virginia ex rel. the CHARLES TOWN GENERAL HOSPITAL, dba Jefferson Memorial Hospital, and the Medical Staff of the Charles Town General Hospital, dba Jefferson Memorial Hospital, Petitioners,
v.
The Honorable David H. SANDERS, Judge of the Circuit Court of Berkeley County, Anna Marie Chaffins, and Thomas Chaffins, Jr., Respondents.

No. 29770.

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.

Submitted September 5, 2001.
Decided November 9, 2001.

*88 P. Gregory Haddad, Esq., Steptoe & Johnson, PLLC, Morgantown, Ancil G. Ramey, Esq., Steptoe & Johnson, PLLC, Charleston, for the Petitioners.

D. Michael Burke, Esq., Burke, Schultz and Harman, Martinsburg, Barry J. Nace, Esq., Paulson & Nace, Washington, District of Columbia, for the Respondents.

Paul T. Farrell, Jr., Esq., Wilson, Frame, Benninger & Metheney, PLLC, Morgantown, for Amicus Curiae, West Virginia Trial Lawyers Association. *86

*87 DAVIS, Justice.

The petitioners herein, the Charles Town General Hospital, doing business as Jefferson Memorial Hospital, and the Medical Staff thereof [hereinafter collectively referred to as "the Hospital" or "Jefferson Memorial Hospital"], request this Court to issue a writ of prohibition to prevent the Circuit Court of Berkeley County from enforcing its order entered March 23, 2001. By that order, the circuit court, ruling in favor of the respondents herein, Anna Marie Chaffins [hereinafter referred to as "Mrs. Chaffins"] and her husband, Thomas Chaffins, Jr. [hereinafter referred to as "Mr. Chaffins"], determined that certain documents held by the Hospital and sought by the Chaffins in their underlying medical malpractice lawsuit were discoverable. In this petition for writ of prohibition, the Hospital claims that the circuit court improperly found that these documents were not protected by the privilege contained in W. Va.Code § 30-3C-3 (1980) (Repl.Vol. 1998) of the West Virginia Health Care Peer Review Organization Protection Act, W. Va. Code § 30-3C-1, et seq. Upon a review of the parties' arguments, the record of documents at issue in this proceeding, and the pertinent authorities, we find that the writ requested by the respondents should be granted as moulded. To the extent that the contested documents are available from original sources extraneous to the medical credentialing process, they are not privileged and are subject to discovery. However, those documents, such as applications for staff privileges, that were generated as part and parcel of the credentialing process are protected by the health care peer review privilege pursuant to the terms of W. Va. Code § 30-3C-3. In light of these rulings, we remand this matter to the Circuit Court of Berkeley County for further proceedings consistent with this Opinion.

I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In August, 1997, Mrs. Chaffins saw her personal physician, Danine A. Rydland, M.D. [hereinafter referred to as "Dr. Rydland"], for medical testing which revealed the presence of abnormal cells. Thereafter, in September, 1997, Dr. Rydland, who had surgical privileges at petitioner Jefferson Memorial Hospital, performed a laser cone biopsy and endocervical curettage upon Mrs. Chaffins at that facility. Mr. and Mrs. Chaffins allege that Mrs. Chaffins' subsequent medical problems were caused by Dr. Rydland's negligent performance of this procedure and ensuing *89 treatment of Mrs. Chaffins, and that such acts resulted in severe injuries that ultimately required Mrs. Chaffins to undergo a hysterectomy in May, 1998, at the age of 25.

The Chaffins then filed a lawsuit against Dr. Rydland, alleging medical malpractice.[1] They also named Jefferson Memorial Hospital and its medical staff parties defendant to their civil action, claiming that the Hospital had been negligent in extending staff privileges, or credentials, to Dr. Rydland and later renewing such privileges.[2] During the proceedings below, the Chaffins sought discovery of various documents in the Hospital's possession concerning its decision to issue and renew Dr. Rydland's application for staff privileges in an attempt to establish whether the Hospital knew of various professional complaints that had been lodged against Dr. Rydland when it made these decisions. The Hospital claimed that such documents were protected from disclosure by the privilege applicable to health care peer review organizations contained in W. Va.Code § 30-3C-3 (1980) (Repl.Vol.1998).[3] Upon the Chaffins' motion to compel discovery of these documents, the Circuit Court of Berkeley County performed an in camera review thereof, and, by order entered March 23, 2001, ruled as follows:

It appears to the Court that the issue is whether certain documents are privileged under the peer review [statute]. The Court in reviewing the documents ... stamped 000001-000137 finds that the only document that falls under the peer review privilege is document 000080. The Court finds that all other documents were generated as part of the credentialing process and are not privileged. The Court further finds that these documents are confidential in nature and certain protections should be afforded these documents.

Based upon the circuit court's determination that the majority of the Hospital's records at issue were not privileged and thus were subject to discovery by the Chaffins, the Hospital filed this petition for writ of prohibition and requests this Court to prevent the circuit court from enforcing its order.

II.

STANDARD FOR ISSUANCE OF WRIT

This case comes before this Court upon a petition for writ of prohibition. Typically, relief of this nature is reserved for rather extraordinary cases. State ex rel. Suriano v. Gaughan, 198 W.Va. 339, 345, 480 S.E.2d 548, 554 (1996) ("Mandamus, prohibition and injunction against judges are drastic and extraordinary remedies.... As extraordinary remedies, they are reserved for really extraordinary causes." (internal quotations and citations omitted)). Accordingly,

"`[a] writ of prohibition will not issue to prevent a simple abuse of discretion by a trial court. It will only issue where the trial court has no jurisdiction or having such jurisdiction exceeds its legitimate powers. W. Va.Code, 53-1-1.' Syl. pt. 2, State ex rel. Peacher v. Sencindiver, 160 W.Va. 314, 233 S.E.2d 425 (1977)." Syl. pt. 2, State ex rel. Kees v. Sanders, 192 W.Va. 602, 453 S.E.2d 436 (1994).

Syl. pt. 1, State ex rel. United Hosp. Ctr., Inc. v. Bedell, 199 W.Va. 316, 484 S.E.2d 199 (1997). In other words,

"`this Court will use prohibition ... to correct only substantial, clear-cut, legal errors plainly in contravention of a clear statutory, constitutional, or common law mandate which may be resolved independently of any disputed facts and only in cases where there is a high probability that the trial will be completely reversed if the error is not corrected in advance.' Syllabus Point 1, [in part,] Hinkle v. Black, 164 W.Va. 112, 262 S.E.2d 744 (1979)." Syllabus point 1, in part, State ex rel. DeFrances v. Bedell, 191 W.Va.

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556 S.E.2d 85, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-charles-town-hosp-v-sanders-wva-2001.