Defense attorneys are no longer allowed to ask plaintiffs if their attorney referred them to a doctor for treatment. In Worley v. Central Florida Young Men’s Christian Association, No. SC15-1087, (Florida Supreme Court 2017), the Florida Supreme Court held that such a question would intrude upon information protected by the attorney-client privilege.
Heather Worley was injured after she tripped and fell in a YMCA parking lot. She hired an attorney and subsequently treated with three medical providers. The YMCA, wary of a “cozy relationship” between Worley’s attorney and her doctor, deposed Worley and asked her how she was referred to her doctor, to which her attorney objected on the ground of attorney-client privilege. The trial court ordered Worley to produce any documents that showed a relationship or agreement between her attorneys and the medical providers, plus any documentation of previous clients Worley’s attorneys referred to those providers. The Fifth District Court of Appeals upheld the decision, relying on Allstate Insurance v. Boecher, No. 92,436, (Florida Supreme Court 1999), which held that the financial relationship between a law firm and a plaintiff’s treating doctor was discoverable if evidence of a referral relationship could be shown. This certified conflict with Burt v. Government Employees Insurance No. 92-01870,(Florida Second District Court of Appeals 1992), where the court said that whether an attorney referred a client to a doctor was privileged.
