May Infected Patient Compel Doctor to Testify About Doctors Own Medical Condition?
In Medical Malpractice Suit Against Hospital Donald Ward et al. v. Summa Health System et al., Case no. 2009-1998 9th District Court of Appeals (Summit County) ISSUE: Under R.C. 2317.(B)(1), the state law that makes medical records and communications between a physician and patient “privileged” (not subject to disclosure under most circumstances), when a patient who undergoes a surgical procedure later develops an infectious disease and files a malpractice suit against the hospital where the operation took place, may the patient compel the doctor who performed the surgery to answer discovery questions about the doctor’s own medical condition at the time of the operation? BACKGROUND: In 2006, Dr. Robert Debski performed heart valve replacement surgery on Donald Ward at Akron City Hospital, a facility operated by Summa Health System. Following Ward’s discharge from the hospital, he received a notice from Summa advising him that he might have been exposed to the Hepatitis B virus while he
