Amber Edwards, Petitioner v. Larry D. Thomas, M.d., Respondents

Summary

The court held that Amendment 7 creates a broad constitutional right to access any records relating to any adverse medical incident, including records generated by external peer-review committees and records maintained in the ordinary course of a hospital’s business. It concluded that the external peer-review reports were discoverable because the external committee qualified as a similar committee, the reports were made or received in the course of business, and any fact work product was subject to Amendment 7. Justice Lawson, joined by Justice Canady, dissented, concluding that expert reports prepared at counsel’s request for imminent litigation were outside Amendment 7 because they were not made or received in the course of business.