In a published opinion, the New Jersey Appellate Division concluded that the plaintiff in a medical malpractice claim is entitled to access the metadata in a decedent’s electronic medical record and that the defendants failed to demonstrate that the discovery request was burdensome.

According to the opinion, plaintiff Michele Lasiw, executrix of the estate of Richard M. Lasiw, moved to compel the defendants, Hackensack University Medical Center and Hackensack Meridian Health (HUMC), to allow an expert to conduct an onsite inspection of the decedent’s electronic medical record (EMR). Lasiw argued that Rule 4:18-1 gave her the right to do so and to examine the metadata associated with the EMR. She also sought the production of an “audit trail” of the EMR for almost a full year following the discharge of the decedent.