If you have been injured in a slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall, your medical records can play a critical role in determining the amount of compensation you receive as part of your lawsuit award or settlement. This is because your medical records have the ability to prove that your accident directly caused your injuries. Your medical records also show the nature and extent of your injuries, the treatments you have already received and will need in the future. All this information can help substantiate your claim for compensation.
What Your Medical Records Can Establish
Medical records are crucial when it comes to showing who is at fault in a slip-and-
fall or trip-and-fall case. The records can help prove that your accident directly caused the injuries and contributed to your losses such as medical expenses, lost income and other damages. As the injured party, you bear the burden of proof. In other words, it is your responsibility to show that you suffered compensable damages as the result of the defendant’s negligence (carelessness).
Your medical records are important because:
• They are direct evidence showing that you were injured. In a slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall lawsuit, emergency room records, doctors’ comments, diagnoses, recommended treatments and medical documentation of your pain can serve as vital evidence.
• They can provide proof of damages. Record of the care you received after an injury can help form the legal basis for your personal injury case.
• Most importantly, your medical records can help establish the value or worth of your slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall claim. The exact cost of surgeries, hospital stays, rehabilitative treatment and cost of prescription medication, medical equipment, etc. can be calculated. Your personal injury lawyer can also use your medical records to quantify the financial impact of your injuries, medical treatment and ongoing therapy and care, and sometimes, even the mental/emotional component of your injuries.
Requesting Your Medical Records
Under the Health Insurance Portability and Account Act (HIPAA), you, as the patient, are allowed to request copies of your medical records. This means you can obtain the information you need to file a slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall claim. If you are unsure about which records you will need or how to get them, your New York personal injury lawyer can help you obtain them.
Your lawyer may have you sign a HIPAA request form, which will authorize them to get the appropriate records on your behalf. Examples of medical records that you will most likely need to substantiate your claim include, but are not limited to, medical bills, hospital stay records, prescription drug forms, doctor’s notes, patient forms, receipts, invoices, etc. It is important to never give defendants or their attorneys or representatives access to your medical records. Do not sign any authorization forms until you have spoken with your lawyer.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you were involved in a slip-and-fall or a trip-and-fall accident as a result of someone else’s negligence (carelessness), please remember that you have rights. Some of the damages that victims of such accidents can claim include, but are not limited to, medical expenses, loss of wages and benefits, cost of hospitalization, surgery, physical therapy, past and future pain and suffering, permanent injury, etc.
The experienced New York personal injury attorneys with the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you. For almost 50 years, our skilled attorneys have established a proven track record of helping injured victims.
Our law firm recovered $1,700,000 for a woman who slipped and fell and received no hospital or medical treatment for one month after the accident. Our law firm also recently recovered $5,600,000 for a bicyclist who was hit by a van, and $2,550,000 for another victim of a truck accident, and $3,000,000 for a pedestrian who was hit by a car, and the full $1,000,000 insurance policy for a pedestrian who was hit by a truck, and $4,625,000 for a driver who was in a car and was hit by a van, and $2,500,000 for a man who fell through an improperly secured hole. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury and/or medical malpractice cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com