Onward Living Recovery Community, LLC v. Mormeneo
The Third DCA quashed an order compelling production of a root cause analysis and incident report prepared after a 'sentinel event' death at petitioner's facility. The court held the documents were work product prepared in anticipation of litigation notwithstanding that company policy routinely required their creation, and that the trial court's conclusory finding of complete waiver based on a corporate representative's deposition references was unsupported. On remand, the trial court must conduct an in camera inspection (reviewing the video deposition) to determine whether and to what extent waiver occurred, and if protection remains, an evidentiary hearing on need/undue hardship under Rule 1.280(b)(4).
Key facts
- Petitioner Onward Living Recovery Community, LLC operated a residential facility where a resident died in a 'sentinel event'; respondent Mormeneo sought discovery of the root cause analysis and incident report prepared following the death.
- The trial court compelled production of the documents, finding that petitioner had waived work-product protection based on references made by a corporate representative during her deposition.
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Why it matters
Useful authority for defendants resisting production of post-incident root cause analyses and incident reports, particularly in healthcare and residential-facility settings where internal policy mandates such reports… — full analysis with a trial
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