229 N.C. App. 359
N.C. Ct. App.2013Background
- Plaintiff Judy Hammond sued Cumberland County Hospital System, Inc. (CCHS), Bax, and Untch, among others, for injuries from a surgical fire on Sept 17, 2010 at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center.
- During the procedure, supplemental oxygen under drapes ignited when Dr. Saini used electrocautery, causing burns and permanent injuries.
- Bax, Untch, and CCHS denied negligence; plaintiff served discovery demands for documents and interrogatories.
- Defendants asserted medical review privilege, work product doctrine, and attorney-client privilege to withhold documents; they provided RCA policy, RCA Report, and Risk Management Worksheets.
- Trial court granted motions to compel discovery after in camera review of withheld documents; defendants appealed to the NC Court of Appeals.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the RCA documents are protected by medical review privilege | RCA materials are produced for hospital quality review and should be privileged | RCA Team qualifies as a medical review committee under §131E-76(5) (b) or (c) | RCA Team not shown to meet §131E-76(5) criteria; privilege not established |
| Whether Maynard's notes are protected by work product | Notes prepared in anticipation of litigation and not routine hospital business | Notes may be work product; need policies to determine ordinary-course creation | Remanded to determine if notes are protected under work product after evaluating hospital policies |
| Whether the appeal properly includes overbreadth/relevancy arguments | Discovery requests were overbroad and not reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence | Requests are within discovery scope; some arguments rely on privileges | Jurisdiction limited; overbreadth/relevancy arguments dismissed; only privilege/work product issues proceed |
Key Cases Cited
- Woods v. Moses Cone Health Sys., 198 N.C. App. 120 (2009) (medical review privilege standard applied on appeal)
- Bryson v. Haywood Reg’l Med. Ctr., 204 N.C. App. 532 (2010) (insufficient evidence to prove medical review privilege; in camera review where applicable)
- Hayes v. Premier Living, Inc., 181 N.C. App. 747 (2007) (burden to prove medical review privilege; substantive requirements)
- Diggs v. Novant Health, Inc., 177 N.C. App. 290 (2006) (remand for work product analysis with hospital policy context)
- Evans v. United Servs. Auto. Ass’n, 142 N.C. App. 18 (2001) (interlocutory discovery orders and privileges reviewable when privilege asserted)