Legal Question in Personal Injury in Tennessee

Re: Insurance companies rights regarding medical records

If you are making a claim for bodily injuries, the insurance company is entitled to all of your medical records. It is my experience that they will not pay you a dime unless and until they have all of your records so that they can determine whether you ever received a similar injury in the past. If you have some condition that you do not want disclosed and if it is not relevant to your wreck injuries, there are ways to keep that from the insurance company, however, that causes the insurance company to be very skeptical about your claim. I do not know what state you are in. It is important that you know all of the types of damages you can recover from a personal injury case. In Tennessee, for example, you may recover for loss of earning capacity, loss of earnings, past and future pain and suffering, past and future medical expenses, permanent impairment, punitive damages, property damages, loss of enjoyment of life, consortium, loss of services and possibly other damages. You must also be aware of any subrogation claims that may be made against any recovery you obtain. Insurance adjusters usually do not tell you about them and these types of claims must be paid by you out of your settlement. Unless you are experienced and knowledgeable in knowing how to prove your losses to the satisfaction of an insurance adjuster, I strongly suggest that you retain the services of an experienced attorney. The attorney will charge you a fee but 99% of the time, he will make you more money than you can otherwise recover on your own from an adjuster. This reply to your question does not, in any way, establish an attorney and client relationship. Bill Poland

Re: Insurance companies rights regarding medical records

I would join in William Poland's response, but add one more important point -- anything you say to the insurance adjuster could come back to haunt you at trial if your case is not settled.

Anything you say to the claims adjuster can be used against you in court... and you will

be surprised what claims adjusters will sometimes later swear you told them... even

though the words never even crossed your lips. The best way to make it hard for them

to lie about what you might have said in any conversation with a claims adjuster is to

refuse to talk with the adjuster. (Letters you write to an adjuster can also be used

against you in court the same way.)

When an attorney represents you that is easily avoided.