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PLAINTIFF IN THIS NEGLIGENT-HIRING ACTION AGAINST THE HOSPITAL WHICH EMPLOYED A DOCTOR WHO ALLEGEDLY SEXUALLY ASSAULTED HER AND OTHER PATIENTS SOUGHT DISCOVERY; THE IDENTITIES OF THE OTHER ASSAULTED PATIENTS WERE NOT PROTECTED BY THE DOCTOR-PATIENT PRIVILEGE; PARTY STATEMENTS WERE NOT PROTECTED BY THE QUALITY ASSURANCE PRIVILEGE; AND PLAINTIFF WAS ENTITLED TO THE NAMES OF THE DOCTOR’S COWORKERS (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court, determined plaintiff, who, along with other patients, was allegedly sexually assaulted by a doctor, Newman, employed by defendant hospital (Mount Sinai), was entitled to certain discovery. Plaintiff sought discovery of party statements, incident reports, the identities of the other assaulted patients, and the names of the doctor’s coworkers at the time of each assault. Plaintiff was entitled to documents not protected by the quality assurance privilege. The doctor-patient privilege did not extend to the identities of the other assaulted patients. And the names of the doctor’s coworkers were in a statement prepared by the Health and Human Services Department to which plaintiff was entitled:

We reject Mount Sinai’s assertion that privilege excuses it from complying with plaintiff’s discovery demands regarding the identities of the other three patients that defendant Newman assaulted. The doctor-patient privilege provided for by CPLR 4504(a) protects information relevant to a patient’s medical treatment, but the privilege does not cover incidents of abuse not part of a patient’s treatment … . Moreover, while the court stated that disclosure would violate HIPAA, federal regulations provide for disclosure of HIPAA-protected documents subject to a showing that the party seeking disclosure has made a good faith effort to secure a qualified protective order, and plaintiff has done so in each of her motions (45 CFR 164.512[e][ii], [v] …).

… [T]he identities of defendant Newman’s coworkers at the times of each of the assaults are relevant and must be disclosed, as those coworkers may have information concerning his conduct … . The names of the coworkers were contained in a statement of deficiencies prepared by Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and plaintiff is entitled to production of that statement, redacted to remove conclusions of law and opinions of the Department of Health and Human Services … . Newman v Mount Sinai Med. Ctr., Inc., 2022 NY Slip Op 03327, First Dept 5-19-22

Practice Point: Here plaintiff was allegedly sexually assaulted by a doctor who pled guilty to assaulting other patients. Plaintiff sued the hospital which employed the doctor under a negligent hiring and retention theory. The names of the other assaulted patients were not protected by the physician-patient privilege. Party statements were not protected by the quality assurance privilege. And plaintiff was entitled to the names of the doctor’s coworkers.

 

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