Hawaii Rules on Accessing Medical Info in Court Filings Valid

Hawaii courts can lawfully deny the public access to medical and health information in publicly available court records, a federal court said in upholding the constitutionality of rules that restrict availability.

There is no constitutional right of access to medical and health records filed in civil court proceedings, the US District Court for the District of Hawaii said. And, while there is a such right as to criminal competency evaluations, it must be applied on a case-by-case basis, it said.

Plaintiff Civil Beat Law Center for the Public Interest Inc. argued that Hawaii court rules that prohibit including “personal information,” ...