Do I Have to Reveal My Medical History if I Make a Claim After a Tennessee Automobile Accident?

There are few things as private as your health information. In fact, there is a Federal law that prohibits the release of health information without your written consent.

But if you file a personal injury case of almost any type, there is a chance that you are going to have to reveal all of your health information depending on the type of injuries you seek.

There is a common sense reason for this. For instance, if you get hurt in a car wreck and you injure your back for example, it is important for the other side -- the people who caused the wreck -- to know whether you've had any prior complaints of back pain. Because quite frankly they don't want to pay for pain that they didn't cause.

So they are going to ask for and receive permission to see your prior medical records to see if you've complained of back pain.

Quite frankly it is fair. It is an invasion of your privacy but it is a decision by you to file a claim that allows your privacy -- your health records -- to be seen by the other side.

But that doesn't mean that your health history is an open book. For example, if you have a claim that you hurt your back, that doesn't mean that the other side gets to look at records from your psychiatrist or your psychologist except in very very limited cases.

So it is important to have a lawyer who understands what medical records can be seen by the other side and which cannot. And then to the extent that the other side of the case, the insurance company, is trying to get more than they have the right to get, to fight for you to keep those medical records confidential.

We've been helping people with this kind of problem for over 30 years at our offices. And we'd be honored with the opportunity to help you in your case.