Prink v. Rockefeller Center Inc.
Court of Appeals of New York
398 N.E.2d 517 (N.Y. 1979)
Mr. Prink died falling from his 36th-floor office window in Rockefeller Center, with his death certificate noting he had been depressed, leaving unclear whether the fall was accidental (potentially caused by negligent building construction) or a suicide; his widow (plaintiff), suing Rockefeller Center (defendant) for wrongful death, refused on physician-patient privilege grounds to reveal what her husband's psychiatrist, Dr. Doyle, told her after his death, and the trial court ordered her to answer.
Whether the physician-patient privilege applies to statements made by a patient's psychiatrist if the party seeking to use the privilege brings an accidental death claim resulting from a fall from a tall building.