If an examinee submits or authorizes access to X-rays of any area of his or her body for inspection by the examining physician, no additional X-rays of that area may be taken by the examining physician except with consent of the examinee or on order of the court for good cause shown.
§ 2032.520.X-ray examinations
Title 4. Civil Discovery Act · Chapter 15. Physical or Mental Examination · Article 5. Conduct of Examination · Enacted 2004 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 2032.520 bars an examining physician from taking additional X-rays of a body area the examinee already submitted or authorized access to, absent the examinee's consent or a court order for good cause shown.
Full Text of § 2032.520
Plain-English Summary
This section addresses one specific overreach risk: repeated X-ray exposure. If an examinee submits to X-rays of some area of the body, or authorizes the examining physician to access existing X-rays of that area, the examining physician cannot take additional X-rays of that same area beyond what was already submitted or authorized.
That default can be overridden, but only two ways. The examinee can consent to additional X-rays, or the court can order them on a good-cause showing. Absent one of those, the existing images have to be enough, protecting an examinee from unnecessary repeat radiation exposure just because the examining physician would prefer fresh images.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the examining physician take new X-rays of an area already imaged?
Not without the examinee's consent or a court order for good cause. Section 2032.520 limits additional X-rays of an already-submitted area.
What if the examinee only authorized access to existing X-rays rather than submitting to new ones?
The same limit applies. Authorizing access to existing X-rays of an area also blocks additional X-rays of that area absent consent or court order.
Why does this section single out X-rays specifically?
Because repeated X-ray exposure carries its own health considerations distinct from other diagnostic procedures, warranting a specific limit on top of the general restrictions on invasive testing.
Amendment History
(Added by Stats.2004, c. 182 (A.B.3081), § 23, operative July 1, 2005.)
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the West's Annotated California Codes / Thomson Reuters. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: additional x-rays medical examination limitrepeat x-ray consent independent medical exam