Ingram v. Mutual of Omaha Ins. Co.,
No. 01-0308-CV-W-3-ECF (W.D. Mo. Oct. 26, 2001)
A woman sued her insurance company after it gave her medical records to lawyers
for a case in which she was a potential witness. The woman claimed that the
insurance company violated fiduciary duties to her by disclosing the records,
while the insurance company argued that it was properly complying with a valid
subpoena. The question before the United States District Court, Western District
of Missouri was whether there was a fiduciary duty. The court found that such
a duty existed because of the medical records which the insurance company held
would normally be protected by the physician-patient privilege. The court further
held that this fiduciary duty to protect the medical records did not vanish
upon receipt of the subpoena and that the insurance company had multiple avenues
it could have pursued to protect against disclosure of the medical records,
such as filing a motion to quash the subpoena or filing objections with the
lawyer who requested the records.