Last month’s Oregon Supreme Court decision in Ransom v. Radiology Specialists of the Northwest, 363 Or 552 (2018) will likely have far-reaching impacts on how discovery is conducted in construction defect cases in Oregon. Ransom involved a plaintiff’s claim for alleged medical negligence case against two of the plaintiff’s former radiologists for alleged failure to properly read her imaging scans, which the plaintiff further alleged led to misdiagnosing her cancer as Stage II instead of Stage IV. Id. at 555-56. At issue on appeal was whether the plaintiff’s attorney could seek an answer from the radiologists about their current interpretation of the imaging scans for the plaintiff. Id. During the deposition the radiologists both testified that they did not have an independent memory of interpreting certain scans back at the time they reviewed such scans. Id. When the plaintiff’s attorney thereafter asked the radiologists to review those same scans during their deposition and answer questions about certain markings identified on the scan, defense counsel objected and instructed the radiologists not to answer on the grounds the questions impermissibly sought expert testimony and/or called for information protected by attorney-client privilege. Id. A trial court later concurred with the defense’s objection and prohibited the radiologists from answering the questions about the present-day interpretations of the scans. Id. at 557. On a writ of mandamus filed by the plaintiff, the Oregon Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s decision. Id. at 572-73.
After reviewing the history surrounding Oregon’s prohibition on expert discovery as discussed in two prior cases, Stevens v. Czerniak, 336 Or 393 (2004) and Gwin v. Lynn, 344 Or 65 (2008), the Supreme Court held that “under ORCP 36B, a participating expert can be asked any questions relevant to his or her direct involvement in the events at issue.” Ransom, 363 Or at 567. The Court further found that because the questions did not ask the radiologists to provide information regarding the content of any attorney-client privileged communications, evidentiary rules on attorney-client privilege did not apply. Id. at 572.