If you've been in an auto accident, this is what you're going to hear from the at fault party's insurance adjuster over the phone: "Before we get started on your claim or pay any bills, our company policy requires you to sign and return our standard medical authorization."

By signing the authorization, you're giving the insurance company a blank ticket to fish around in your entire medical history, even if it's unrelated to the torn rotator cuff you received due to the crash, to use a simple example. Anything is now fair game for them to get their hands on--counseling, psychological, OB-GYN records-you name it.

I've had clients tell me: "Well, I have nothing to hide." And you shouldn't. Any prior history of any injuries or conditions affecting your collision injuries SHOULD be divulged to your attorney, and the insurance company should know about it as well. We ALL need to know if you have any previous injuries or conditions to any part of your body that was injured in the crash.

But under Ohio law, we have a doctor-patient privilege, even when you are involved in an accident. That privilege still protects medical information that is unrelated to your injury claim. And particularly with elderly clients, insurance companies love to obtain Uncle Joe's medical records 20 years before the drunk driver slammed him and tore his rotator cuff, and then argue "gee, we see that his kidneys were going bad and he had a knee replacement and was on high blood pressure medication, so that rotator cuff tear wasn't that big of a deal."

That's the problem with allowing insurance companies to canvass your unrelated medical records--it allows them to take unrelated, privileged information and paint you as "damaged goods" for the purpose of paying less on your claim.

A recent Ohio case (Wooten v. Westfield Insurance Co, 2009-Ohio-494) ruled that an insurance company had no right to demand that the injured person sign a blank authorization/"blank ticket" until it could be determined by a judge, in private (known as an in camera inspection) as to whether the records sought had any bearing on the person's accident injuries. The attorney in that case did an excellent job of lawyering to protect his client's privacy, and had to go all the way to the Court Of Appeals to do it.

This case sends insurance companies a message: you have no right to demand the right to fish around in a person's past medical history and grab anything you want.

The proper way to handle this is for the attorney to freely divulge what past medical information is related to the client's injury claim, and protect from disclosure what is unrelated. But you won't be afforded that luxury if you talk to the at fault insurance company adjuster over the phone shortly after the crash. Instead, you'll hear the words "company policy" and "mandatory" about 13 times. ALthough it's not the adjuster's fault--after all, he or she is just following company policies, it doesn't mean you have to accept it.

NOTE: This rule MAY be different if your own insurance company is asking you to sign a blank authorization. There's a little fine print clause in your insurance contract known as a "cooperation clause" that may require you to sign your own insurance company's authorization. That's why it's important to ask an attorney about your rights before you sign any papers after an accident.

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The other day I received a call from a potential client, who was broadsided at an intersection by a driver who left the scene, and apparently was later found in possession of drugs. Within 3 days, a Progressive adjuster sent the caller a check for a couple thousand dollars, and told him that unless the check was cashed, the claim would be "closed out." He returned the check--good move.

The second good thing he did was not return the scads of calls from chiropractors who've been calling him offering their "services" after getting ahold of his accident report (something to avoid at all costs in my humble opinion as I explained in a previous post). He asked me: "Can they just close my claim since I didn't accept the check?" Answer: No. In Ohio, you have two years to pursue a claim against the negligent party. More importantly, it raises the question: what should people do in this situation? I discuss this in "Your Ohio Accident...And How To level Your Playing Field." Below is an excerpt of the book...

CHAPTER 3: DO I NEED AN ATTORNEY TO
HANDLE MY CLAIM?
Short answer: probably, but not always. Sometimes, we will advise potential clients that they can do just as well handling their own claim as we could do for them if we represented them. But this rule is the exception, and not the norm. Below is an example of practically the ONLY circumstance where you can handle your claim on your own.
EXAMPLE: You were rear ended. You went to the local ER (always a good medical idea as a precautionary measure), got treated and released, and waited a few days to see how you felt. You might have been stiff and sore for a few days or a week. You might have even seen your family doctor (also a good idea) just to be checked out. You may have missed a day or two from work, but eventually, you returned to work, and generally got better. No physical therapy, no series of diagnostic tests, or other treatments or bills – a happy ending to an initial nightmare.

If this is your accident scenario, a couple rules come into play. First, you have a limited claim. You’ll eventually be offered your medical bills plus a minimal amount for your pain and aggravation. Some insurance companies even have a name for this: an “inconvenience fee” (notice how your pain has been labeled just an “inconvenience”). Basically, the insurance company is looking to “cash you out.” Definition: in exchange for the small figure they’ve offered you, you sign a “Full Release,” which means your claim is over. If you have any further treatment or bills after you sign, forget it. Signed release = claim is over, unless you were fraudulently tricked into signing it.

*******

The same is not true, however, if your injuries require anything more than a simple doctor’s visit, such as a couple of doctor or chiropractor visits, physical therapy, tests, or injuries like fractures or injuries requiring surgery. And this brings into play RULE NO. 4 OF THIS BOOK: THERE ARE MANY WAYS YOU CAN RUIN OR JEOPARDIZE YOUR CLAIM WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING IT, so you should consider hiring a competent attorney to assist you in leveling your playing field against the insurance company.
Some of these sins are minor, and others will kill your claim. Many of the minor ones occur before the injured person ever calls us, and some can be minimized or repaired, but in no particular order they are:
(To read more, click here for a FREE copy of the book...)

I have no idea whether this caller has a limited claim he can handle on his own or one that I can help him with. Every injury is different. Some people recover quickly with little to no need for medical help, and other injuries get worse over time and need medical intervention and time to heal. But the surest way to kill your claim is to sign the "cash out" check and the release. Insurance companies have the right to follow a business model to cash you out as soon as possible and cut off their exposure. And you have the right, and the time, to decline.

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