Q: Incident reporting and risk management at hospital

A: Under California law, incident reports and records of peer review activities related to risk management in hospitals are generally protected from discovery in legal proceedings. However, a plaintiff may still inquire about certain aspects of the incident reporting and risk management process without demanding the actual documents.

In an interrogatory, a plaintiff can likely ask:

1. Whether an incident report was created in response to the specific event at issue in the lawsuit.

2. What general steps were taken by the hospital's risk management department in response to the incident, without seeking details that would be protected by peer review privilege.

However, the plaintiff cannot demand the production of the incident report itself or detailed records of peer review activities, as these are likely protected by California laws designed to promote candid discussions and improvements in healthcare quality.

Relevant California laws include:

1. California Evidence Code section 1157, which protects records and proceedings of hospital quality assurance committees from discovery.

2. California Evidence Code section 1156, which protects hospital peer review records from discovery.

It's important to note that while these protections are broad, they are not absolute. Courts may sometimes allow limited discovery if the plaintiff can demonstrate a compelling need that outweighs the policy goals of the privilege. Consulting with an attorney experienced in California healthcare law would be advisable to determine what specific inquiries may be permissible in a given case.