(MPRN-Lansing) The Michigan Court of Appeals is ordering a Flint hospital to hand over documents about the water crisis.
A protective order previously prevented the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services from getting documents about Legionella cases at McLaren Flint Hospital. DHHS wanted the documents to investigate Legionella cases that arose because of Flint’s contaminated water.
Anna Heaton is a spokesperson for Governor Rick Snyder. She said the protective order prevented the department from doing its job.
“When there’s an outbreak of this kind anywhere in the state it’s important that they’re able to go in, find out what happened and use that information to work to prevent further outbreaks,” she said.
McLaren Flint Hospital previously defended the protective order saying it was necessary because there are lawsuits at the hospital, some of which involve the department, and that could cause of conflict of interest or interfere with discovery in those cases.
But the Court of Appeals said the judge that issued the protective order “abused” his “discretion.” The opinion said DHHS needs to be able to protect the public health.
Angela Minicuci is with the Department of Health and Human Services. She says the protective order prevented them from investigating Legionella cases as well as lead levels in general.
“If we’re not able to communicate with our partners regarding what we’re finding in terms of lead levels in all residents, not just children, but in all residents,” she said. “That really prohibits our ability to best protect the health of Flint residents and Genesee County as a whole.”
