In Barrick v. Holy Spirit Hospital, 2014 Pa. LEXIS 1111 (Apr. 29, 2014), a divided Pennsylvania Supreme Court left in place a decision of the Pennsylvania Superior Court creating “a bright-line rule denying discovery of communications between attorneys and expert witnesses.”
Barrick involved a defense request for records from the plaintiff’s treating physician, who had also been designated as an expert. The plaintiff’s physician responded to a series of subpoenas by producing the requested medical records, but objected to production of “certain records … that pertain to [plaintiff] but were not created for treatment purposes.” The defense moved to enforce the subpoena and, after conducting an in camera review, the Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas granted the motion.
