Good Samaritan Hospital and Dr. Mark Schwartz were sued for malpractice after John Lamacchia's wife died during a medical procedure.
Interestingly, after the lady's death, the hospital revoked Schwartz's privileges. And when lawyers later tried to get copies of the doctor's personnel file, the hospital refused--claiming that state law exempted those records from disclosure.
While the Suffolk County Supreme Court sided with the hospital, the Appellate Division, Second Department, thought otherwise. Although the files were statutorily protected, and were "confidential" in nature, an exception to disclosure applied when a malpractice lawsuit was filed. As a result, the hospital was directed to release the requested materials to the trial judge, so that he could determine whether there was any content of relevance to the pending litigation.
Looks like there's hope for a recovery.
To view a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Lamacchia v. Schwartz