Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title III. Production of Evidence · Chapter 3. Discovery · Last amended 1993 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 1465 entitles a person examined under a court order to receive a detailed written report from the examining physician on request, but asking for that report waives the examined person's privilege over every other doctor's findings on the same condition.
Full Text of Art. 1465
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A. If requested by the party against whom an order is made under Article 1464 or by the person examined, the party causing the examination to be made shall deliver to him a copy of a detailed written report of the examining physician setting out his findings, including results of all tests made, diagnoses, and conclusions, together with like reports of all earlier examinations of the same condition. After delivery the party causing the examination shall be entitled upon request to receive from the party against whom the order is made a like report of any examination, previously or thereafter made, of the same condition, unless, in the case of a report of examination of a person not a party, the party shows that he is unable to obtain it. The court on motion may make an order against a party requiring delivery of a report on such terms as are just, and if a physician fails or refuses to make a report the court may exclude his testimony if offered at the trial.
B. By requesting and obtaining a report of the examination so ordered or by taking the deposition of the examiner, the party examined waives any privilege he may have in that action or any other involving the same controversy, regarding the testimony of every other person who has examined or may thereafter examine him in respect of the same mental or physical condition.
C. This Article applies to examinations made by agreement of the parties, unless the agreement expressly provides otherwise. This Article does not preclude discovery of a report of an examining physician or the taking of a deposition of the physician in accordance with the provisions of any other rule.
Amendment History
Acts 1976, No. 574, §1; Acts 1993, No. 619, §1.
Plain-English Summary
Article 1465 governs what happens after an examination ordered under Article 1464. If either the person examined or the party against whom the order was made asks for it, the party who arranged the exam has to deliver a detailed written report -- findings, test results, diagnoses, and conclusions -- along with reports from any earlier examinations of the same condition.
That request comes with a trade. Once delivered, the party who arranged the exam becomes entitled to request a like report from the examined party's own doctors on the same condition, past or future. And by requesting or obtaining that report, or by deposing the examiner, the examined party waives whatever privilege they might have had over the testimony of every other person who has examined, or may later examine, the same condition -- in this action and in any other case about the same controversy. It's a genuine choice: ask for the report and open the door to related medical evidence, or forgo it and keep the privilege intact.
If a physician won't produce the report, the court can order delivery on terms it considers just, and if the refusal continues, the court can exclude that physician's testimony at trial. The article applies just as much to examinations the parties agree to on their own as to court-ordered ones, unless their agreement says otherwise, and it doesn't cut off other ways to get the examiner's findings, such as an ordinary deposition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get a copy of the report from a court-ordered medical exam?
Yes, on request -- a detailed written report from the examining physician, plus reports of any earlier examinations of the same condition.
What do I give up by requesting the examiner's report?
You waive privilege over the findings of every other person who has examined, or may later examine, the same condition, in this case or any other case about the same controversy.
What happens if the examining physician won't produce a report?
The court can order delivery on terms it considers just, and if the physician still refuses, the court may exclude that physician's testimony at trial.
Does this rule apply to exams the parties agree to on their own, without a court order?
Yes, Article 1465 applies to examinations made by agreement of the parties, unless their agreement expressly says otherwise.
Source & verification. Article text is reproduced verbatim from
the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure (legis.la.gov). Enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.
Last verified July 30, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as:IME reportexamining physician reportmedical exam reportprivilege waiver medical exam