In the last few days we have had a recurring reference question asking us how to do a protective order to prevent the disclosure of personal records contained in Personal Injury Protection (PIP) claims. This type of protective order is obtained under the Washington Uniform Health Act, located in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 70.02.060.

The question is how do you find the necessary forms to do this? A set of books in the Library titled Washington Practice has some sample forms that you can adapt for this purpose. The forms are in Volume 9A, Washington Practice, Civil Procedure Forms and Commentary, Chapter 26. This chapter contains a sample Motion for Protective Order, a Declaration in Support of Motion for Protective Order, and an Order Granting Protective Order. These three sample forms can be adapted to fit the circumstances of the protective order to prevent the diclosure of the records. As these forms are sample forms, they must be edited to comply with the court rules for documents you wish to file, particularly General Rule 14. You can find a guide on formatting court documents for King County Superior Court at the Northwest Women’s Law Center web site.  

You can find the rules for discovery for superior courts in Washington, Civil Rule 26, at the state court web site. Local discovery rules may also be available. For instance, you can find KCLCR 26 for King County at the King County Superior Court Clerk’s web site.

Visit our Library to obtain copies of the sample forms, or use our document delivery option to obtain the forms via email.

Update: The situation that precipitated this blog posting is in the process of being resolved. The necessary forms to obtain the protective order for this record request will be made available to the parties soon. Update to the Update:  See this post about the objection form now being available from King County Superior Court.