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Medical Negligence, Mistakes and Malpractice
Getting Medical Records Before Filing a Medical Negligence Complaint Against The Doctor or Hospital: Let's Apply Common Sense
An interesting “philosophical” point was raised to me during a recent round of medical malpractice legal research regarding the pre-litigation discovery of medical records by a potential medical negligence plaintiff. Aside from the issue of whether records are discoverable before a lawsuit is actually filed, the issue presents some interesting points to consider. In evaluating potential lawsuits against doctors, nurses, hospitals, and other healthcare providers, injury and wrongful death medical malpractice lawyers should have, and often must have, access to the medial records of their clients (the potential defendants’ patient). In some cases, doctors and hospitals are reluctant to provide these records, and might even “drag their feet” in order to deter the possibility of a lawsuit, or to otherwise set up the possibility of the dismissal of a lawsuit that is filed by the medical negligence attorney without his or her having had the benefit of those records to ensure accuracy in the lawsuit papers. Sometimes the reluctance or refusal of doctors and hospitals to turn over the patient’s medical records is the result of a more simplistic desire to just “hide” the records. The question of who “owns” the records aside, the reality in these situations is that the healthcare providers are being disingenuous. We all hear the charge that we are in the midst of a major medical malpractice lawsuit problem, with plaintiff attorneys running rampant filing frivolous personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. If hospitals, nurses, doctors and physicians assistants are concerned about frivolous lawsuits, and if they are concerned about the truth where there is some potential that they have made medical errors that have injured or killed patients; then they should happily produce their records when requested by the attorney for the victim. They will eventually have to be produced once a case is actually filed, so why “hide” the records before a lawsuit is filed? Doctors and hospitals should adjust their attitudes regarding medical records production pre-litigation. Sometimes, the victims of nursing home abuse, medical error/mistake, automobile accidents, and other wrongful death or injury type problems have difficulty getting their own medical records. An attorney can help. This is particularly true with nursing home records, where, despite the laws requiring that the resident’s records be provided in very short order, nursing homes are uncooperative in getting the records to the nursing home resident or the resident’s family (in cases where the resident has died). Sometimes the lawyer’s involvement makes all the difference. Let my office help you if you are having difficulty getting the relevant medical records in your medical negligence case. We have locations in Raleigh, Wilmington and Fayetteville, for your convenience, and are happy to provide a free consultation in cases involving medical errors and mistakes.
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