Owens v. Fluz Fluz LLC, a Delaware limited liability company

Summary

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California orders Plaintiff to revise redactions in medical records after conducting an in camera review under the patient-litigation exception to the physician-patient and psychotherapist-patient privileges. The Court identifies categories of information that may not be redacted and orders an exhibit containing the redacted records to remain sealed.

Holdings

1. The patient-litigation exception is not broad enough to require disclosure of every aspect of a patient-litigant's personality or medical information merely because it may be relevant; the permitted inquiry depends on the nature of the injuries placed at issue by the patient-litigant.
2. Certain identifying information, including Plaintiff's date of birth, legal sex, name, document-printing date and time, and other patient-identification information, may not be redacted; pharmacy and prescription information related to conditions at issue also may not be redacted. Redactions concerning conditions not at issue may remain where permitted by the order.
3. The redacted version of Plaintiff's medical records, Exhibit A to ECF No. 37, must remain sealed.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the redactions to Plaintiff's medical records complied with the patient-litigation exception to the physician-patient and psychotherapist-patient privileges.
2. Which identifying, prescription, pharmacy, and medical-record information could permissibly be redacted.

Disposition

other