Does workman's comp have a right to my entire medical record or only for the current injury? Are there circumstances where they would have rights to past medical history?
by 
cinmarie
ANSWERS: 7
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Your entire medical history. Sorry =( I worked for an attorney who did Worker's Comp cases and when you sign the release form, they are entitled to ALL medical history EXCEPT AIDS/HIV information. This is because if you are claiming an injury you might have had it before, and they want to see if it just aggravated it or you now have an entirely new injury. Plus if you made numerous claims in the past, the WC attorneys can challenge you.
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Does this violate HIPAA?
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lavender No, because you signed a HIPAA waiver if the verbiage isn't already included in the other waivers you should have signed and returned...and kept copies of for your records.
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Workmans comp can get every medical record you have ever had.
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lavender
If the waiver isn't signed to obtain past medical, then WC can subpoena all med records, obviously without the injured workers signature or permission. I wouldn't say "every" record an injured worker ever had - generally work comp will only go about 10 years back, depending on the injury of course.
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I think that really sucks! They should only be entitled to the information regarding the current injury! No, they want medical history for the past 5 years!I don't care, that is just wrong! I have never had this type of injury before and my medical history is none of their business! I should sue!
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Hardcore Conservative
But THEY don't know if you've ever had that type of injury before, so yes, your medical history is their business. If you don't release the medical history, your claim can be denied.
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what if you only give them permission for medical records from the doctor that did the surgery and follow up?i stated that on the paper they sent to me.what happens if they deny my claim?can my boss fire me?they have me off work due to the fact that they say they can't comply with the work restrictions.that really sucks.now what?
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lavender
WC claims already have a right to the med files from the work comp. injury itself. Your ER is paying for the WC insurance, so you don't sign a waiver for that. They ask for past medical, because they are looking for different things - perhaps a previous injury to same body part as your WC injury, as well as several other things. If they deny your claim and you really cannot work per doctor, then you would have to file with the state. Your boss cannot fire you for sustaining a work related injury, that is illegal. if they do or if they otherwise discriminate against you because of your WC injury, you can file a 132a. In the 16.5 years that I had been doing WC claims, I have only seen about three cases of a 132A, it's just very highly unlikely to happen.
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They do have the right to obtain all of your medical records. When a claim is first opened, the form you sign to give the examiner the right to subpoena your records should be included along with the other stuff you sign. If you don't sign it, they could deny your claim.
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No. They have no right to any medical records. Unless, of course you actually want compensation. Then you play by their rules.
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