How have courts interpreted attorney-client privilege in cases involving personal information disclosure in a personal injury case?

D'Alessio v. Gilberg (N.Y. 1994) 617 N.Y.S.2d 484 [205 A.D.2d 8] also involved a similar situation. A fatal hit-and-run accident occurred when an unknown driver struck and killed a pedestrian. The victim's family learned the unknown driver had consulted a particular attorney. The family initiated pre-action discovery to learn the client's identity from the attorney. The trial court upheld the attorney's claim that disclosure of the client's identity was protected by the attorney-client privilege. (617 N.Y.S.2d at pp. 484-485.)