What are my rights on releasing my psychiatric records, if I am not filing an emotional distress claim for a personal injury?

I observe that your attorney has a better handle on the situation than would anyone here online. I can imagine a circumsstance where the following wouldbe accurate "I was advised that if I don't sign the authorization then they can bring a motion before the court to compel the production and request sanctions" Take the matter back to your lawyer to inquire again what the advice is and why. That is why you have counsel. Good luck. God bless. NOTE: This answer is made available by the out-of-state lawyer for educational purposes only. By using or participating in this site you understand that there is no attorney client privilege between you and the attorney responding. This site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney that practices in the subject practice discipline and with whom you have an attorney client relationship along with all the privileges that relationship provides. The law changes frequently and varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The information and materials provided are general in nature, and may not apply to a specific factual or legal circumstance described in the question.

Your instincts are good. In California, if you are not claiming damages for emotional distress above and beyond what would normally be associated with the physical injury that you have suffered, then your psychological records are irrelevant to any issue in the case and are protected by a state constitutional right of privacy. there is published appellate authority on this point. If you have described your situation accurately, and in fact you are not claiming damages for emotional distress above and beyond what would normally be associated with the type of injury that you have suffered, then your attorney should meet and confer with the defendant and convince them to narrow their records subpoena to non-psychological records only. If the defendant refuses, then your attorney should file a motion to quash the subpoena, which he likely will win, in which case he can ask for sanctions from the defendant. Again, if you a representing the situation accurately, consistent with what I have explained, then your attorney is giving you bad advice. I would show him this posting and have him or her contact me if he wishes me to direct him to the authorities that support my position. Now, if you had to go to therapy, or have lost sleep or weight or allege some other form of damage that would be connected to exceptional emotional distress, then you either would have to stipulate not to bring such claims at trial, or in that case you likely would have no grounds to object to a subpoena asking for your psych records. Whatever you do, do not sign any releases for your private, protected psych records before you go over this issue thoroughly with your attorney. If he or she is not aware of the caselaw that protects your rights of privacy to your medical file if you are not claiming exception emotional distress and is encouraging you to waive these rights, I'd consider hiring another one asap. Finally, you are exactly correct. At a minimum, your attorney should request your entire file on your behalf himself so you can review what is there before the other side has an opportunity to see it in any case. By offering this suggestion, by no means to I intend to offer you legal advice beyond raising these issues to your present counsel, and I do not form an attorney client relationship with you or anyone reading this posting. The only way such relationship could be formed is by contacting me and establishing the representation through a written agreement. Best of luck to you.

I agree with the response from the other practitioner, that you should not have to release your records. Then again, since I am not your attorney, it is hard to say what the particular facts are in your case. With that being said, some lawyers are too lazy or not agressive enough to file a motion to quash the subpoena, or object vigorously to a request for medical records that is too broad. Show the following case to your attorney, and find out what your rights are. (Britt v. Superior Court 1978) 20 Cal.3d 844). Good luck. Adam Sorrells Chico Personal Injury Attorney Law Offices of Adam Sorrells Important disclaimer: The following was not legal advice, and cannot be relied on. For informational purposes only. No attorney/client relationship formed.

I agree with some of the other commentators that have told you that your instincts on this issue are good. Although I do not practice law in California, in Illinois your psychiatric records would most likely be protected from disclosure under our state's Mental Health Confidentiality Act. Our office will typically prepare a motion to quash a subpoena that seeks these types of records. In the event that the records have questionable relevance we request that the judge conduct an "in camera" inspection of the records (this is just a fancy legal term for the court looking at the records first without showing them to the other parties) to determine if they should be disclosed to the opposing party. Most judges are very protective of mental health confidentiality and will only require that the records be disclosed when the relevance to the plaintiff's claim is clear. Moreover, in the event that the records include some relevant material and some irrelevant material the court can order that only the relevant portions be disclosed. The key is to address the issue before the records are produced because allowing their disclosure to the opposing side could serve as a waiver of your right to confidentiality. Good luck.