Warren v. Dart (Summary)

PEER REVIEW PROTECTION

Warren v. Dart, No. 09 CV 3512 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 30, 2013)

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois denied an amended motion to compel production of a witness in a case brought on behalf of a deceased prisoner, finding that a health services’ report on an investigation of the deceased’s death is subject to the protection afforded by the Illinois Medical Studies Act (“IMSA”).

The deceased was kept at a county jail for retail theft. She was found dead in her cell approximately two and a half days after her arrest. The deceased’s friends sued pursuant to the Civil Rights Act, claiming that the sheriff’s deliberate indifference to the deceased’s medical needs caused her death. The friends alleged that the deceased died of bronchial asthma, a condition that would have been treatable had the sheriff given her access to medical treatment. The friends also sued pursuant to state law.

The court found that the health services’ report was a product of a peer review process to benefit patient care and reduce death rates at the jail, and that it was medical in nature. The report included recommendations for improvement of patient care, and did not discuss liability, litigation risk, or other business concerns. The court concluded that the report was subject to IMSA protection. The court further found that though the report was reviewed by those outside of the peer review committee, it was protected under IMSA because it was “initiated, created, prepared, or generated by a peer-review committee.”