Your Right To Your Medical Records
In a personal injury claim, providing accurate medical records and billing is one of the key elements to successfully negotiating and settling your claim. Insurance adjusters need to assess your claim from both a liability perspective (Negligence) and a damages perspective. The police report or incident report serves as the primary source of evidence regarding liability. Your medical records and billing begin to tell the story of the physical damages you suffered as a result of the incident or car accident.
HIPAA Protects You
Your right to your medical records is statutory. Not only does HIPAA protect you from having your records disclosed to the general public, it also protects you when a medical provider refuses to provide records or billing if requested. Generally speaking, a medical provider has thirty days to provide you a copy of records. If there is a delay, a reason should be given by the provider, and another thirty days is generally allowed to deliver the medical records.
Charges For Records
It is not unusual for providers to charge “reasonable, cost-based fees” for providing copies of records. There is current litigation surrounding the charges for medical records, and the latest development in those legal battles is found in a CIOX case, and relate specifically to law offices attempting to claim the patient rates for copies of medical records.
Unfortunately, you should expect to pay “reasonable, cost-based fees” for the retrieval of medical records. Further, it is unfortunate that those fees are sometimes upwards of $100.00 depending upon the source and the number of pages.
Charges For Medical Records In Your Injury Case
If we represent you in a personal injury case, our firm pays for obtaining medical records and medical billing. If we are successful in reaching a settlement or jury verdict for you, we are reimbursed for those records. If we are unsuccessful in reaching a personal injury settlement or verdict for you, you will not be billed for the cost of obtaining the records.
Speak With A Personal Injury Lawyer Today
If you are having trouble obtaining medical records, or if you wish to speak with a lawyer about your personal injury case, we’re here to help. You can reach us at 704.749.7747 or click HERE to request a consultation. We know you have choices. We hope you choose Layton Law.