Communications between attorneys and a public relations firm working with a hospital in connection with an internal investigation are not barred from discovery in a subsequent lawsuit under either the attorney-client privilege or work-product doctrine, the Pennsylvania Superior Court has ruled.
A three-judge panel of the court ruled March 13 in BouSamra v. Excela Health to deny efforts by Excela Health, which runs Westmoreland Regional Hospital, to bar discovery of the documents. The decision upheld a ruling from the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas and relied heavily on a 2014 Commonwealth Court decision involving whether documents related to Penn State’s internal investigation of convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky’s conduct, commonly referred to as the Freeh report, were discoverable.
