Med. Protective Co. v. Pang

PEER REVIEW PRIVILEGE

Med. Protective Co. v. Pang, No. CV 05-2924-PHX-JAT (D.
Ariz. Feb. 6, 2007)

In
a lawsuit by an insurance company seeking to substantially reduce one of
its insured physician’s medical malpractice policy limits, the United States
District Court for the District of Arizona granted a hospital’s objection to
a subpoena issued by the insurance company that was requesting documents regarding
the peer review proceedings involving the insured physician at the hospital.
The court noted that the state peer review statute protects the peer review
process and prohibits a third party from attempting to ascertain what information
was considered in the peer review proceedings. Because the insurance company’s
subpoena sought the type of information covered under the peer review privilege,
unless the hospital waived the privilege, the documents were protected. The
court found that the hospital did not waive the privilege, as the insurance
company argued, by requiring the physician to maintain medical malpractice
insurance.