Doe v. Burke Wise Morissey & Kaveny, LLC

Plaintiff filed a complaint against the defendants, a law firm that had represented him in a medical malpractice case, alleging that they violated the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act when they issued a press release after obtaining a favorable jury verdict. The press release contained information about a suicide attempt by the plaintiff as well as his resulting injuries and diagnoses. The supreme court affirmed the judgment of the trial court dismissing the plaintiff’s complaint, finding that plaintiff had waived confidentiality under the Act when he voluntarily testified to specific details regarding his mental health information at a public trial. The supreme court further concluded that the Act was inapplicable under the facts of the case because plaintiff’s testimony during the public medical malpractice trial, the records and evidence connected to the trial, and plaintiff’s communications with the defendant were communications kept in connection with malpractice litigation, not in connection with providing mental health services. The court explained that the protections contained in the Act are contingent on whether the communications or records that were disclosed were made in the course of providing therapy or other mental health or developmental disability services. (OVERSTREET, HOLDER WHITE, ROCHFORD, and O’BRIEN, concurring. THEIS and CUNNINGHAM took no part)