How To Approach Task of Obtaining Medical Records?

Medical records serve as a valuable piece of evidence, one that stands out amid all the other gathered evidence.

Why the medical records for an accident victim could prove so important

If the victim had a pre-existing condition, then the records could show that the same condition was under control at the time of the accident. Personal injury lawyer in Northbrook knows that it should weaken any claim by the insurance company that the condition was responsible for the severity of the victim’s injury.

The observations recorded by the physician could support the victim’s claims, regarding the nature and extent of the accident-related injuries. If an insured victim needed to see a specialist, owing to the nature of the sustained injury, then the medical records would allow the specialist to learn the basic facts about the new patient’s medical history.

Whose records can any one individual can request?

Any person has the right to request his or her own medical records.If you are serving as the representative for another individual, then you have the right to request his or her medical records.

A parent can request a child’s records, unless the court has placed that same child under its care, or the parents have granted to their son or daughter the opportunity to have a confidential relationship with that same child’s doctor.

You can ask to be provided with the records of a deceased individual, if you are that same person’s representative, or if the information in the requested records relates in some way to your own health or safety.

To what records would an accident victim not have access?

All victims lack the ability to obtain the notes that were recorded by a psychotherapist. That rule would deprive them of one source of information, if any of them had chosen to claim the existence of problems that had resulted from the emotional effects of a given accident.

No person, including victims has the right to go after the facts that a medical provider has assembled, so that the same facts might be used in a lawsuit. If a medical provider for a certain person feels that the same patient might have his or her safety endangered by the possession of certain medical records, then that same person cannot obtain that recorded information. That rule applies regardless of the existence of other rules, relating to the sharing of information in a doctor’s files.

In other words, an accident victim cannot feel certain that he or she will be able to examine all of the recorded observations from the doctor that treated that same patient. Consequently, a given victim might not enjoy all of the benefits that are linked to acquisition of the existing medical records.