After a car accident, you may expect the insurance company to ask for the police report, photographs, repair estimates, and information about what happened. Then the requests for medical information begin.
The insurer may ask for records from the doctors treating your accident injuries. It may want information about earlier medical treatment. You might even receive a medical authorization asking you to give the insurance company permission to obtain records directly from your healthcare providers.
Why does the insurance company need your medical history?
Medical records can provide important evidence of the injuries caused by an accident and the treatment you needed. But they can also become a source of disagreement, particularly when an insurer looks to your prior medical history for another explanation for your symptoms.
Understanding what the insurance company is looking for can help you approach these requests more carefully.
Why Medical Records Matter in a Personal Injury Claim
A personal injury claim requires more than showing that another driver caused an accident. You also need evidence of the injuries and losses the accident caused.
Medical records can help establish:
- What injuries were diagnosed
- When you first reported symptoms
- What treatment doctors recommended
- Diagnostic test and imaging results
- Whether you required surgery or rehabilitation
- How your condition changed over time
- Whether you have ongoing symptoms or limitations
- Whether future medical treatment may be necessary
Medical bills show the financial cost of treatment. Medical records help explain why that treatment occurred and what the injuries actually involved.
For that reason, relevant medical documentation is often a central part of evaluating a personal injury claim.
What Is the Insurance Company Looking for in Your Records?
The insurance company is not reviewing medical records solely to confirm that you were hurt.
An adjuster may compare your records with statements you have made about your injuries and examine whether the medical evidence supports the damages being claimed.
The insurer may look at questions such as:
- When did you first seek treatment? A significant delay between the accident and medical treatment may lead an insurer to question whether the symptoms were caused by the crash.
- Were there gaps in treatment? If treatment stops for an extended period and later resumes, the insurer may question why.
- What did you tell your doctors? Medical records often document how an injury happened, what symptoms you reported, and how those symptoms affected you.
- What did diagnostic testing show? X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, and other testing may provide evidence relevant to the nature of an injury.
- What was your condition before the accident? Prior medical history can become particularly important when an injured person previously experienced similar symptoms or had an injury involving the same part of the body.
These issues do not automatically defeat a personal injury claim. They are simply among the factors an insurer may investigate when deciding what injuries and damages it believes are attributable to the accident.
Why Is the Insurance Company Asking About Old Injuries?
Suppose you injured your lower back in a car accident but also received treatment for back pain several years earlier.
The insurance company may argue that some or all of your current symptoms are related to the earlier condition rather than the crash.
That does not necessarily mean you cannot recover compensation.
An accident can aggravate or worsen a pre-existing condition. The important question may be how your condition changed because of the accident.
Prior medical records can sometimes help establish that distinction. They might show, for example, that an earlier injury had resolved, that you had not needed treatment for years, or that your symptoms became substantially worse after the crash.
Trying to hide a relevant prior injury can also damage credibility. Your attorney should know about previous injuries and treatment so they can evaluate how that history may affect your claim.
Do You Have to Sign a Medical Authorization From the Insurance Company?
An insurance company may send you an authorization allowing it to request medical records directly from healthcare providers.
Before signing, pay attention to what records the authorization permits the insurer to obtain and how broad the request is.
Some medical information will legitimately be relevant to evaluating a personal injury claim. But an authorization may potentially reach records that extend well beyond the treatment connected to the accident.
That is why you should not treat a medical authorization as routine paperwork that must automatically be signed exactly as presented.
If you are represented by a personal injury attorney, talk to your attorney before signing an authorization or providing records directly to the opposing insurance company. Your attorney can determine what information is relevant to the claim and how appropriate medical documentation should be provided.
Can the Insurance Company Use Your Medical Records Against Your Claim?
Medical records can support a personal injury claim, but insurers may also rely on information within them to challenge aspects of the case.
For example, an insurer might point to a previous injury, a gap in treatment, a doctor’s note describing improvement, or a difference between symptoms reported at different appointments.
Context matters.
Medical records are created primarily for healthcare purposes, not personal injury litigation. A brief note in a chart may not tell the entire story of how an injury affects someone’s work, family responsibilities, sleep, mobility, or daily life.
That is one reason personal injury cases should be evaluated using the complete evidence rather than an isolated sentence from a medical record.
Should You Review Medical Record Requests With an Attorney?
For a minor accident with straightforward treatment, insurance issues may be relatively simple. But medical-record requests can become more significant when injuries are serious, treatment is ongoing, or there is a history of prior injuries.
A Minnesota personal injury attorney can help determine what medical information is relevant, gather documentation supporting the claim, and respond when an insurer argues that injuries were pre-existing or unrelated to the accident.
Your attorney can also communicate directly with the insurance company so you do not have to decide on your own how to respond to requests for medical information.
Medical Records Can Be Critical Evidence After an Accident
Medical records often tell an important part of the story in a personal injury case. They can document when symptoms began, what doctors diagnosed, the treatment required, and whether an injury may have lasting effects.
But the insurance company may be looking at those same records for evidence it can use to reduce or deny part of the claim.
The personal injury attorneys at Sieben Edmunds Miller can help gather and present the medical evidence supporting your injuries while addressing disputes involving prior conditions, treatment, and insurance requests.
If you have been injured in a Minnesota car accident and have questions about what information an insurance company is requesting, contact Sieben Edmunds Miller to discuss your claim.
Frequently Asked Questions About Medical Records and Personal Injury Claims
Why does the insurance company need my medical records?
Medical records help document your injuries, treatment, symptoms, and prognosis. An insurer may also review them to determine whether it believes your medical treatment and claimed damages were caused by the accident.
Can an insurance company ask about pre-existing conditions?
Prior medical conditions can be relevant when they involve the same injuries or symptoms at issue in a personal injury claim. However, having a pre-existing condition does not necessarily prevent you from recovering compensation if an accident aggravated or worsened it.
Should I sign the insurance company’s medical authorization?
Review any authorization carefully before signing it. If you have a personal injury attorney, discuss the request with your attorney first, particularly if the authorization appears to provide broad access to your medical history.
Can gaps in medical treatment affect a personal injury claim?
They can. An insurance company may argue that a lengthy gap in treatment raises questions about the severity or cause of an injury. There may also be legitimate explanations for gaps, which should be considered in the context of the entire claim.
