Pennsylvania’s Superior Court held that the “best interest of the child” standard does not trump the privacy of a person concerning his or her medical and mental health records. A recent Superior Court decision held that in child custody proceedings the Court may not force or order a party to provide his or her mental records to the other party or the Court. The Superior Court’s decision is based in part on the HIPPA federal law concerning privacy of one’s medical records. The Superior Court maintained that there are less intrusive ways for a Court to evaluate a party’s mental health status.
The Court could, however, Order a mental health examination pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1915.8. Ordering an evaluation is one thing, but is the mental health evaluator allowed to disclose the findings and or the records that he or she based their decision on? These are all interesting questions which require the skill of a seasoned and experienced custody lawyer.
Call The Mulligan Law Firm for a free consultation at 570-703-0269 because “when it comes to family, experience matters”.