Do I Have to Release My Entire Medical History After a Vehicle Accident?
If you are ever in a traffic accident caused by someone’s negligence (whether due to texting and driving, drunk driving, or anything else) and you are injured, you will no doubt want the other driver to pay you for your pain and suffering. If they are insured, that insurance company will likely want to find ways to pay out as little as possible. One way they do this is by having you sign documents that allow them to look through your entire medical history. While it is quite probable that certain aspects of your medical history will be needed to determine whether you were injured in the accident, it is important that you know your rights. By law, you have a right to keep your medical history and information private.
What are the laws regarding my medical records?
Your privacy concerning your medical history is laid out in Tennessee law. According to Tennessee Code §68-11-304, “Hospital records are and shall remain the property of the various hospitals, subject, however, to court order to produce the records. Unless restricted by state or federal law or regulation, a hospital shall furnish to a patient or a patient’s authorized representative such part or parts of the patient’s hospital records without unreasonable delay upon request in writing by the patient or the representative.”
In simpler terms, what that means is the only people who have legal access to your records are you and the hospital unless those records are requested by a court order. You can also authorize certain representatives, such as a lawyer, to have access to your medical history and records as well. An insurance company cannot look at your medical records unless you give them permission, or a court orders the hospital to produce the records.
At the federal level, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’s (HIPAA) Privacy Rule “gives you rights over your health information and sets rules and limits on who can look at and receive your health information. The Privacy Rule applies to all forms of individuals’ protected health information, whether electronic, written, or oral.” Federal law supersedes state laws, which is why you ALWAYS have the right to your own medical records, even at our hospitals.
It is important that you know your rights through the law so that when you are in an accident with someone who was at fault for the crash and your injuries, the insurance company doesn’t trick you into thinking you have to give them your entire medical history when such a measure may not be needed.
When should I release my medical records/history?
Let’s say that you are involved in an accident where you suffer an injury to your hip. Now, pertinent information that the at-fault driver’s insurance company may need is the medical history concerning that part of the body.
In this case, you should release your medical records to your attorney so that they can go through them and see which aspects are required for the case, instead of letting the at fault’s driver’s insurance adjuster go through your medical history carte blanche. Some medical conditions or surgeries may be very intimate, private, and COMPLETELY unrelated, and if they do not bear any relevance to the case, then no one should have to see them without your say-so.
It is important that you show proper evidence that you were injured from this accident, so that your own insurance company won’t deny your personal injury claim. If your medical records do not show that you suffered any injuries from this accident, you may have a harder time making a claim. You can talk to one of our Nashville injury attorneys about your options here, because we know that not all injuries – even those that cause a significant amount of pain and suffering – are easy to document.
As you can see, deciding who gets to see your medical history and records is important in deciding how much you are awarded in the lawsuit. If the at-fault driver’s lawyers or insurance company has reason to suspect that you may be exaggerating or falsifying your injuries, you very well may be awarded no compensation even if you did suffer an injury. So, after your accident, you should see a medical professional and make sure that your injury is documented into your medical history.
If you have been injured in an automobile accident, whether you were a bicyclist, pedestrian, or simply another driver on the road, you should contact Rocky McElhaney Law Firm at 615-425-2500, or you can fill out our contact form. Our Nashville personal injury lawyers are dedicated to ensuring that you are compensated for your pain and suffering, as well as any lost income that you may see from being too injured to continue work. We can set up a free consultation with you at one of our offices in Nashville, Murfreesboro, Hendersonville, and Clarksville.