Heda

Petitioner, a defendant in a medical malpractice action (hereafter defendant), challenges an order requiring him to answer interrogatories about his doctors’ diagnoses and to furnish his health records to real party (the plaintiff below; hereafter plaintiff). Plaintiff needs the records to support a motion for trial preference based upon defendant’s ill health. (Code Civ. Proc., § 36, subd. (d).) We conclude that this need does not outweigh defendant’s interest in privacy.

Article I, section 1 of the California Constitution provides: “All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy.” The zone of privacy created by this provision extends to the details of a patient’s medical history. (See Cutter v. Brownbridge (1986) 183 Cal.App.3d 836, 842 [ 228 Cal.Rptr. 545 ]; Wood v. Superior Court (1985) 166 Cal.App.3d 1138, 1147 [ 212 Cal.Rptr. 811 ]; Jones v. Superior Court (1981) 119 Cal.App.3d 534, 548-550 [ 174 Cal.Rptr. 148 ]; Board of Medical Quality Assurance v. Gherardini (1979) 93…