§ 144.005.Court Records Concerning Order

A sealing requirement addressed to the court file rather than the medical records.

The court shall seal records concerning an order issued under this chapter and ensure that the court’s records are not open for inspection by any person — except the former mental patient, or on further order of the court after notice to the patient and a finding of good cause.

Without this the chapter would defeat itself. A public court record showing that a named person obtained an order destroying their psychiatric records would disclose the admission the chapter exists to erase.

The patient’s own access is unconditional, which is right — the file is about them.

Anyone else needs an order, and the order needs two things: notice to the former patient, and a finding of good cause. Notice matters because the person concerned is otherwise unaware their file is being sought.

The final sentence supplies a category of good cause automatically: the institution of a suit or bringing of a claim by or on behalf of the former patient, or the patient’s assignee or insurer, constitutes good cause.

That is the fairness limit on the whole chapter. A person who uses the courts on a matter connected to their treatment cannot rely on the seal to prevent the other side seeing the file. The protection is against the world; it is not a litigation advantage.

Naming the assignee or insurer closes the route of having someone else bring the claim.