Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...ation by health care providers in general. See, e.g., § 766.101(5), Fla. Stat. (2005) (medical review committee privilege); § 766.1016(2), Fla. Stat. (2005) (patient safety data); § 459.016(3), Fla. Stat. (2005) (reports of disciplinary actions); § 400.118, Fla....

...I of the State Constitution." [1] Additionally, section 400.0233(5) provides that "[n]o statement, discussion, written document, report, or other work product generated by presuit claims evaluation procedures under this section is discoverable or admissible in any civil action for any purpose by the opposing party." Section 400.118, which provides for a quality assurance monitoring system, states that any record or communication, oral or written, generated as part of this process is not discoverable. Section 400.118(2)(c)....

...the incident reports. Therefore, the trial court directed delivery of the reports to the Estate's counsel. In its petition for certiorari, Mariner first argues that the incident reports are protected from discovery by statute, specifically sections 400.118(2)(c) and 400.119(1), Florida Statutes (2003), and therefore, the trial court departed from the essential requirements of the law in determining that the reports were discoverable....

...rting system. "The incident reports are part of the workpapers of the attorney defending the licensed facility in litigation relating to the licensed facility and are subject to discovery, but are not admissible as evidence in court." § 400.147(4). Section 400.118 requires the Agency for Health Care Administration to establish a quality assurance system to detect unsafe conditions in nursing facilities through the use of "quality-of-care monitors," who conduct unannounced monitoring visits and, essentially, function as state inspectors. §§ 400.021(2), 400.118(2)(a). Findings of the monitoring visits are reported to appropriate supervisory personnel and other responsible agencies. § 400.118(2)(b). Subsection 400.118(2)(c) provides, in pertinent part: Any record, whether written or oral, or any written or oral communication generated pursuant to [quality-of-care monitoring] shall not be subject to discovery or introduction into evidence in any civ...

...The exclusion from the discovery or introduction of evidence in any civil or administrative action provided for herein shall not apply when the quality-of-care monitor makes a report to the appropriate authorities regarding a threat to the health or safety of a resident. (Emphasis added). Thus, when read together, sections 400.118 and 400.147 preclude the discovery of written or oral reports or communications made by quality-of-care monitors in the scope of their duties, with the exception of reports regarding a threat to a resident's health or safety....

...We conclude that Mariner has not shown that the trial court departed from the essential requirements of law in making this determination. In reaching our conclusion, not only have we rejected Mariner's argument that the reports are protected from discovery by section 400.118, as previously discussed, we also reject Mariner's argument that the reports are protected from discovery by section 400.119....

...n of "health care facility" and "health care provider" was not at issue in those cases. However, dicta located in a footnote of Buster mentions that Amendment 7 was enacted by the people to change the law by eliminating guaranteed privileges such as section 400.118, Florida Statutes (2005), which covers quality assurance in nursing homes.