Palay

Plaintiff and petitioner Teogenes Rodriguez Palay, a minor, by and through his mother Inocente Palay, as guardian ad litem, and petitioner Inocente Palay, individually, seek a writ of mandate to compel respondent superior court to vacate an order made during the course of discovery requiring production of Inocente Palay’s medical records relating to prenatal care at the Wilmington Community Free Clinic to defendants and real parties in interest County of Los Angeles (Harbor-UCLA Medical Center), St. Mary Medical Center, and Dr. Jonathan Lawrence (collectively referred to as Defendants).

In filing his action, Child waived his right to assert the physician-patient privilege by putting his own physical condition and medical records at issue. While Child has waived, Mother asserts a right to claim privilege as to prenatal records. We find that Mother cannot assert, a privilege based on two grounds: (1) public policy; and (2) an interpretation of the litigation-exception that recognizes that during pregnancy, a mother’s prenatal records are shared by both the mother and the fetus.

Since Child’s medical records are inseparable from those of Mother during the time he was in…