Perhaps you have no desire to examine any medical records. If you feel that way, you need to gain an appreciation for the role that such records play in resolving a personal injury claim.
Statements and observations in those records can be used to prove that a given accident caused a person’s injuries. In addition, that medical record might be needed by a new physician, a doctor that is expected to treat the accident victim’s injuries. For that reason, the law has established rules, governing the times when it allows the sharing of such materials with a personal injury lawyer in Chatham.
Times when such records can be withheld
In rare instances, one individual has the legal authority to look at the information about someone else’s medical history. Still, the rules of the legal system have specified certain instances when such an action would be an unquestioned violation of the law. Those specific instances have been listed below.
• If the record contains any notes that were made by a psychotherapist
• If some of the recorded facts will be used in a lawsuit
• If the record contains information that could endanger your life, your safety or the safety of others
Times when medical records of a given child will not be shared with the child’s parents or guardian
• The child has requested those documents, and the state in which the child resides does not require parental consent.
• The court has ordered medical care for a given child; the child’s new doctor needs to study the patient’s (child’s) medical history.
• The parents have agreed that the child and the medical provider have a confidential relationship.
• Whenever someone does have a right to learn about someone else’s medical history, any requested medical records should be made available to that same person within a period of 30 days.
What non-professional person has the right to seek information on someone else’s medical history?
Whenever someone moves to a new locality, his or her long-time physician can expect to get a request for information on the patient that has moved away. If that request comes from the patient’s new doctor, then the former physician has no reason to hesitate about satisfying the same request.
Still, not everyone that works in the medical field has the right to learn about someone else’s medical history. By the same token, not everyone that holds a position that falls outside of that particular field must be deprived of access to information that could help with ensuring the good health of a loved one. A legal guardian can get the records of someone under his or her care. He or she can obtain the medical records of someone else.