Your medical records are the proof of your injury. They show what a doctor found, when you were treated and what the treatment cost, and an insurance adjuster who will not take your word for any of that will read the records instead. Getting a complete set is one of the first practical steps in an injury claim.
While an attorney can assist with this process in most cases, having this information ready for your initial case review can be helpful. Keep reading to learn how to access these documents.
What Medical Records Are Needed?
In a personal injury claim, your medical records help determine the extent of your injuries, the treatments you’ve received, and the appropriate compensation. These records may also include details about the length of your recovery and the impact of the injury on your daily life.
Our attorneys will typically use any or all of the following types of records in an injury claim:
- History of doctor’s visits
- History of surgeries or procedures
- Emergency room visits
- Past and present diagnoses
- Miscellaneous medical tests
- X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans
- Prescribed medications
- Discharge summaries
Your Provider’s Obligations
Healthcare providers, such as physicians and hospitals, have certain obligations concerning medical record requests.
Under the HIPAA privacy rule, 45 C.F.R. 164.524(b)(2), a provider has 30 days to act on your written request for records and may extend that once by another 30 days if it tells you in writing why. Florida law adds its own duty. Florida Statute 456.057(6) requires any licensed health care practitioner who examined or treated you to furnish copies of the reports and records, including X rays, in a timely manner and without delays for legal review. Florida Statute 395.3025(1) puts the same duty on a licensed hospital once the patient has been discharged.
Providers may charge for copies. Florida Statute 456.057(17) limits a practitioner to the actual cost of copying, including reasonable staff time, or the amount set by the relevant board's rule. For hospital records, Florida Statute 395.3025(1) caps the charge at $1 per page, up to $2 for nonpaper records, plus a search fee of up to $1 for each year of records requested.
Requesting Records From Healthcare Providers
If you plan to request your records from your provider, you can follow this general procedure in most situations:
- Contact the health care provider's office and ask for the medical records department.
- Make a written request with your name, date of birth, address, phone number, email address and medical record number, and say which records you want, such as everything relating to a specific date of injury.
- Complete a release form authorizing the provider to send the records to you or to your attorney.
- Say whether you want copies or want to inspect the originals.
Once you have made the request, note the date you sent it and follow up if the 30 days pass with no response. Keeping the request in writing is what gives you proof of when the clock started.
Allowing Your Attorney To Request Medical Records
In most cases, victims filing a personal injury claim prefer that their attorneys handle the acquisition of medical records to simplify the process. In these situations, the attorney will typically follow the same procedures as above; they just need your authorization before the documents can be turned over to comply with HIPAA laws.
Once you’ve retained an attorney and provided written consent, your attorney can request any medical records relevant to your case. In situations where the victim of the injury cannot consent, the retained attorney can still act on behalf of the victim and access these documents.
Subpoena And Court Orders
Sometimes records have to be subpoenaed. Florida Statute 456.057(7)(a)3. lets records be furnished without the patient's written authorization in a civil or criminal action on a subpoena issued by a court of competent jurisdiction, with proper notice to the patient or the patient's legal representative. That route comes up when a provider will not respond or when the other side wants records you have not produced.
Speak To An Injury Attorney About Your Claim Today
Florida Statute 95.11(5)(a) gives you two years from the date the cause of action accrues to file a negligence suit for an injury occurring after March 24, 2023, so there is a reason not to wait. The personal injury lawyers at Weinstein Legal Team handle car accident, traumatic brain injury, slip and fall and catastrophic injury claims.
Our lawyers work on a contingency fee, which means you don’t pay any costs or expenses unless we win your case. Click here to schedule your free case review with an attorney, or call us at 888.626.1108 to speak with an attorney right away.
