Thanks for visiting! Welcome to a new way to research case law. You are viewing a free summary from Descrybe.ai. For citation and good law / bad law checking, legal issue analysis, and other advanced tools, explore our Legal Research Toolkit — not free, but close.
Pain Care First of Orlando, LLC v. Edwards
Citations: 84 So. 3d 351; 34 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 318; 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 2903; 2012 WL 591510Docket: No. 5D10-3166
Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida; February 23, 2012; Florida; State Appellate Court
An appeal followed a non-jury trial that awarded damages and granted replevin of medical records to Dr. Donald C. Edwards, M.D., against Pain Care First of Orlando, LLC. The court affirmed that Dr. Edwards owned the medical records but reversed the damages awarded. From 2004 to December 2007, Dr. Edwards served as the sole physician and Medical Director for Pain Care, initially under a written agreement that established his ownership of the medical records. After the contract was mutually terminated in 2006, Dr. Edwards continued to work at the clinic and retained the title of Medical Director, signing documents for the clinic. Upon accepting a position at a competing clinic in December 2007, he requested his patients' medical records but was denied access, leading him to sue for their recovery and damages for wrongful detention. Dr. Edwards argued that the records, while of nominal market value, were irreplaceable, and presented testimony from a business valuation expert who estimated he lost around $470,000 in income due to not having access to these records. In contrast, Pain Care's owner, Ken Lester, Jr., asserted that the clinic owned the records and characterized Dr. Edwards as an independent contractor without ownership rights. Lester admitted to not having specified ownership of the records in any new agreement after the termination of the initial contract. The court noted that Pain Care had sold the clinic, including the medical records, for over $1.3 million. Mr. Lester recognized that while patient records are critical to the business, they are not its sole valuable asset. He acknowledged Dr. Edwards' right to copies of his work product but denied access to the actual medical records containing patient contact details, suggesting Dr. Edwards aimed to solicit former patients. The trial court ruled that Dr. Edwards owned the patient records and was entitled to damages due to their wrongful conversion by Pain Care, determining the value of the records by subtracting the value of physical assets and services from the clinic's purchase price, resulting in a net value of $1,254,044.15 due to Dr. Edwards. Additionally, the court awarded interest from the date Dr. Edwards requested the records and granted him a writ of replevin for any remaining records in Pain Care's custody. According to Florida Statutes Section 456.057, the presumptive owner of medical records is the health care practitioner who generates them, unless an agreement specifies otherwise. In this case, Dr. Edwards was deemed the owner under a written agreement, and there was no new agreement designating Pain Care as the owner after the contract's termination. Consequently, Dr. Edwards retained ownership of the medical records despite Pain Care's sale of the business and records to a third party in January 2009, which triggered a conversion claim. Conversion occurs when the rightful owner's demand for property is unmet. Dr. Edwards was entitled to damages equal to the fair market value of the records at the time of conversion. However, he did not amend his claim to specify the unique value of the records or prove their fair market value at the time of sale, although it was agreed that the business's total value was $1,315,644.15. No evidence was presented by either party regarding the value of the medical records independently, despite their significance as an asset of the business. Dr. Edwards did not demonstrate the unique value of these records separate from the business's overall value, which includes other assets like goodwill. The trial court's valuation approach—subtracting the value of furniture and consultation services from the total business sale price—was deemed overly simplistic. Additionally, Dr. Edwards' rejection of an offer to obtain copies of his patient notes further diminished the records' value. Consequently, the damages awarded to Dr. Edwards were reversed, but no new trial will be granted due to insufficient proof presented. The court affirms the judgment regarding ownership of the medical records while reversing the damages award. The medical director is identified as the 'records owner' under relevant Florida statutes.