DELTA HEALTH GROUP, INC., D/B/A ROSEWOOD MANOR, PETITIONER,
v.
THE ESTATE OF WILLIAM G. COLLINS, DECEASED, BY AND THROUGH WILLIAM T. COLLINS, PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE, RESPONDENT
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The court held that a pre-trial discovery order compelling disclosure of a former nursing home resident's contact information does not depart from the essential requirements of law.
[1] A nursing home's obligation to maintain the confidentiality of resident records does not preclude disclosure of a former resident's identifying information when that info…
[2] A trial court may compel the disclosure of a former nursing home resident's contact information if that resident is a potential material witness to allegations of statuto…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA plaintiff in a civil action sought contact information for a former nursing home resident to locate them as a potential witness regarding alleged vi…
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Delta Health Group, Inc., d/b/a Rosewood Manor, seeks certiorari review of a pre-trial discovery order compelling Delta to provide the plaintiff in the underlying civil action with the name, birth date, social security number, and forwarding address and contact persons, if any, of a former nursing home resident. The plaintiff seeks to locate the individual as a potential material witness to support allegations in the complaint of violations of the decedent’s rights, under chapter 400, Florida Statutes, which resulted in injury and ultimately his death. The individual has been identified by other witnesses as the roommate of the decedent and the person who alerted decedent’s family member of *712specific nursing home staff interactions with the decedent.
Delta asserts in its petition that the trial court’s order departs from the essential requirements of section 400.022, Florida Statutes, which provides that nursing home residents’ “personal and medical records” are confidential. § 400.022(l)(m), Fla. Stat. Because the trial court’s order does not violate any law, certiorari is denied.
The order presented for review is narrowly tailored, limiting the disclosure required to a single potential witness, allowing redaction of any medical information about that former nursing home resident, and acknowledging the former resident’s interest in privacy and confidentiality in any medical information. The record reflects that the former resident could possess information directly relevant to the allegations of the complaint. The trial court duly considered the discovery sought, the petitioner’s arguments for withholding the contact information, and the relevance and purpose of the information in the context of the pending lawsuit. The trial court properly balanced the individual former resident’s privacy considerations against the plaintiffs need for the information already possessed by the nursing home.
WRIT OF CERTIORARI DENIED.
BENTON and VAN NORTWICK, JJ., concur.
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Sovereign Healthcare OF Port ST. Lucie, LLC v. Fernandes, 132 So. 3d 855 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013)…titioner nursing facility prior to his death. Under similar circumstances, both this court in Miller v. Savanna Maintenance Ass’n, 979 So. 2d 1235, 1237-38 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008), and the first district in Delta Health Group, Inc. v. Estate of Collins, 36 So. 3d 711, 712 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010), denied certiorari where those petitioners sought to quash discovery orders requiring disclosure of personal identification information such as names, addresses, and/or telephone numbers of non-party fact witnesses. Given th…
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Mishko Josifov v. Iman Kamal-Hashmat, 217 So. 3d 1085 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017)…althcare of Port St. Lucie, LLC v. Fernandes, 132 So. 3d 855 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013) (discovery of otherwise-protected client names and contact information is proper where they are witnesses to incident at issue); Delta Health Grp. v. Estate of Collins, 36 So. 3d 711, 712 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010) (finding permissible disclosure of contact information and name of single, potential witness; precluding disclosure of other information). The Plaintiff is also mistaken when she argues that she can have the information bec…
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Heartland OF Jacksonville FL, LLC v. George, 84 So. 3d 478 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012)…PER CURIAM. DENIED. Delta Health Group v. Estate of Collins, 36 So. 3d 711 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010). BENTON, C.J., WOLF and VAN NORTWICK, JJ., concur.…