Legal Question in Personal Injury in Wisconsin
I had to furnish my dental records in a small claims as requested by the Attorney, Wis. Stats. 804.08. The porpoise was for his medical expert to examine them. What privacy rules or standards does the Attorney & Expert have to use to protect my records & privacy? Thank You
1 Answer from Attorneys
When you sue in the public court system, you waive most legal privilege and privacy rights as to the condition over which you are suing. The same is true when you raise a medical condition as a defense when you are sued. If you do not open up relevant records, the opposing counsel could move to dismiss your case or defense. Nonetheless, there are still protections which you can invoke in order to prevent additional, unnecessary disclosure to third parties, which should be spelled out in the limited HIPPA release document negotiated by your attorney. If you already signed a broad, general release of medical information, however, you may have given up the right to some of these protections, That being said, however, the last thing that the opposing lawyer wants to do is to unnecessarily your medical information to people who do not need to see it. Most lawyers would therefore handle the information responsibly. It is also possible for your judge to seal portions of your medical evidence which might end up in the court file, so have your lawyer look into this option as well.
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