Figueroa v. Hynes — Dec. 2015 (Summary)

PEER REVIEW PROTECTION

Figueroa v. Hynes
Case Nos. 5D14-3457 and 5D15-174 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. Dec. 11, 2015)

The District Court of Appeal of the State of Florida affirmed a lower court’s ruling that a meeting held by a Medical Executive Committee (“MEC”) was protected by the peer review privilege, while a related general staff meeting was not protected.

In this case, two trauma surgeons’ admitting privileges were summarily suspended; the surgeons, in turn, obtained a temporary injunction halting the suspensions. The suspensions were reviewed by the MEC at a meeting which the surgeons attended.

In their lawsuit, the surgeons argued that the MEC meeting should not be afforded peer review protections because there were significant departures from the bylaws. The court upheld the trial judge’s determination that the MEC meeting qualified as peer review, as the trial judge made that determination upon a number of factors, including the bylaws issues. However, the court held that the general staff meeting did not constitute peer review.