280 P.3d 1078
Wash.2012Background
- Lowy sues PeaceHealth hospital for medical negligence and seeks CR 30(b)(6) testimony about IV infusion injuries 2000–2008.
- Hospital has a Cubes quality-improvement database and a list of IV injuries used for quality assurance.
- Lowy proposes locating relevant, discoverable records by the hospital reviewing its own QA data, redacting patient identifiers.
- Hospital seeks protective order, arguing that reviewing the QA list would require accessing privileged QA materials and constitute discovery of protected information.
- Court addresses whether RCW 70.41.200(3) prohibits internal review to locate discoverable information and how the QA privilege interacts with discovery.
- Court holds that 'review' refers to external review; hospitals may internally review their QA records to locate non-privileged discoverable documents absent shield from discovery.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does RCW 70.41.200(3) bar internal review to locate discoverable records? | Lowy argues internal review is allowed; external review is barred by the statute. | Hospital argues 'review' blocks both internal and external review to locate discoverable items. | RCW 70.41.200(3) limits review to external review; internal review is allowed. |
| What is the scope of the statutory privilege under RCW 70.41.200(3) regarding information created for QA committees? | Plaintiff seeks non-QA materials identified through QA data; argues privilege does not extend to those records. | Hospital asserts information created for QA is privileged from discovery and includes lists/databases used to locate items. | Privilege protects only information created for and maintained by QA committees; non-QA records located by reviewing QA data may be produced. |
Key Cases Cited
- Coburn v. Seda, 101 Wn.2d 270 (Wash. 1984) (peer review privilege narrowly construed; external access stifles candor)
- Anderson v. Breda, 103 Wn.2d 901 (Wash. 1984) (privilege protects internal QA discussions but not disclosure of effects on privileges)
- Adcox v. Children’s Orthopedic Hosp. & Med. Ctr., 123 Wn.2d 15 (Wash. 1993) (strict construction of quality assurance statutes)
- Doe v. Puget Sound Blood Ctr., 117 Wn.2d 772 (Wash. 1991) (right of discovery linked to open administration of justice)
- Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495 (U.S. 1947) (work product analogy to protect documents created for litigation)
- Gendler v. Batiste, 174 Wn.2d 244 (Wash. 2012) (limits shielding by relocating records within databases)