Toree Robinson

Document Type

Case Summary

Publication Date

3-7-2024

Case Synopsis

The Supreme Court of Nevada considered whether the district court exceeded its jurisdiction by compelling testimony concerning alleged privileged information under the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (PSQIA). The Court answered this question by considering: (1) whether the PSQIA patient safety work product privilege can be waived and (2) whether the information that Grace seeks to discover constitutes privileged patient safety work product. The Court looked at the plain language of the regulation and found that the regulation describes when patient safety work product shall continue to remain privileged. The regulation does not describe when patient safety work product shall be excepted from privilege–the exceptions are covered in a different section. The district court erred when it found that Sunrise could waive the privilege over patient safety work product under the PSQIA.

The Court ultimately rejected the district court’s interpretation and found that the privilege over identifiable patient safety work product is absolute and cannot be waived. The district court was further ordered to vacate its order to compel testimony of Dr. Murawsky and to determine whether Grace seeks to compel identifiable or nonidentifiable patient safety work product, and then rule on the motion to compel accordingly.

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