Civil Litigation

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DAVID ROYAL, M.D. and WATSON CLINIC, L.L.P. v. ISAAC

27 Fla. L. Weekly D786 (Fla. 2d DCA Apr. 5, 2002)

The defendants, Royal and the Watson Clinic, brought a common law writ of certiorari to quash a pretrial order that provided that no party could talk to the deponent, Dr. G. Dougles Letson, until after he was sworn to testify for trial, if there was one. The trial court entered the order based upon a finding that the communications were prohibited by the physician-patient privilege established by section 455.667.

The appellate court concluded that the statutory physician-patient privilege did not attach to prevent communications between the health care providers involved as defendants in the lawsuit and Dr. Letson, because all three were involved in the treatment of the patient giving rise to the potential malpractice claim. The filing of the lawsuit could not create a privilege where none had previously existed. Because the trial court

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