Rule 2.314.Discovery of Medical Information Concerning Party

When a party's mental or physical condition is at issue in the case, medical information about it is discoverable so long as it fits the general discovery standard and the party doesn't claim a valid privilege over it — and that information counts as within the party's control even if it physically sits in someone else's file cabinet. A party who wants to keep that information private has to affirmatively assert the privilege, whether in its initial disclosures, in response to a document request or interrogatory, before or during a deposition, or through a motion for a protective order; staying silent waives the privilege for that case (though not for any other case). And asserting a privilege isn't free: if it ends up blocking discovery of information that should have been disclosed, then unless the court orders otherwise, the party can't later put on its own evidence about that medical history or condition at trial.

A party asked for medical information has options beyond a flat privilege claim: hand over the records for inspection, assert privilege, object under the usual document-request rules, or provide signed authorizations letting the requesting party go get the records directly from the doctors and hospitals that hold them, plus tell the other side where to find them. The custodian holding those records — the physician, hospital, or other institution — then has 28 days from a proper request (or 28 days after the patient's discharge, if they're still hospitalized) to comply, generally by making the records available or sending a certified copy, and can charge reasonable costs for doing so. If the custodian ignores a proper request, the requesting party can subpoena the records directly. None of this reaches medical information about people who aren't parties to the case.