If you are in a position where you are looking through the Personal Injury Lawyers in Enumclaw for one to hire because you are going to file a personal injury claim, then you are also going to need to get access to your medical records. This is because medical records are always a vital piece of evidence when it comes to personal injury cases. Your medical records are necessary for any of the Personal Injury Lawyers in Enumclaw to prove that it was the accident that caused your injury and not some preexisting medical condition. It is the most concrete way to prevent the defense from arguing that you could have had the injury because the accident.
HIPAA is the name of a health information act that has made it possible for anyone to acquire their own medical records from any provider whenever they want them. Obviously, there are going to be a few exceptions to this right. These exceptions include things like who can access records for other people and what kind of records can be accessed.
The easiest way for medical records to be obtained is just for you to go to that provider and get those medical records on your own. If you were just in a serious accident and you are confined to a hospital bed, this might not be a very realistic option. Fortunately, you can always write an authorized letter granting anyone permission to go get your record. It is not uncommon for Personal Injury Lawyers in Enumclaw to have a letter from their client granting them permission to get the medical records for the case. Naturally, you just need to make sure you trust whoever you are sending to get your records.
You would also be able to access the medical records of anyone you are the guardian or parent of. Furthermore, there are limited rights available for getting the medical records of someone who has passed away. If you were pursuing a wrongful death case with your personal injury lawyer, you would need these records in order to prove that the person was in good health before what caused their death.