Your relationship with your doctors and specialists can be very important during a personal injury case. Your doctor's examinations of you as well as their diagnosis can be a critical part of your personal injury attorney winning a settlement for you. If you will be going to the doctor often, you may get comfortable with them and feel free to talk about your case. You may assume that anything you tell your doctor will be protected under doctor-patient confidentiality. However, depending on your state laws, your doctor may be able to testify about things that you speak about during an examination.
While you should be honest with your doctor about your injuries and current health status, you should avoid telling them any of the following things.
"I feel ready to return to my normal life."
If there are specific things that you want or need to do that your injuries are preventing you from doing, it is important to get clearance from your doctor. For instance, you may need clearance from your doctor to return to work or to engage in physical activity such as cycling or running. While you can certainly ask your doctor if you are ready for these activities or when you will be ready for them, you should avoid saying that you are ready to return to your everyday life or that you feel, "fine," if you still have symptoms.
You might say that you feel fine because you do not want to overplay your injury, you feel it is polite to say so, or you are simply tired of being injured. However, it is important that you do not state that you feel fine, normal, or prepared to engage in activities before you actually are. It will usually be best if you allow your doctor to make their assessment of when you are ready to start normal activities again instead of offering your own opinion about your injuries. If you make statements about being ready to return to your normal life, insurance companies may use them to invalidate your claim for further treatment.
"You can release my records to my insurance company."
Releasing medical records usually involves signing a waiver form, but you should be clear during your examinations and while filling out paperwork that you do not want to release your medical records. Your lawyer can inform you whether or not you are required to release your medical records to your insurance company or the defendant's insurance company, and they should also help you with the process.
Releasing your medical records can give the defending attorney or the defendant's insurance company extra information they do not need and may exploit in order to pay you a lower settlement.
"Can you help make sure I get all I can?"
You do not want to imply in any way that you are being dishonest about your injuries or that you are trying to get a larger settlement than you are actually due. You should avoid implying that you are taking advantage of your injuries or asking your doctor to give you unnecessary treatments or an untrue diagnosis. Even if you are joking, this can be seen as fraud. Fraud is considered a serious crime and can result in you losing your claim, being denied insurance, and having a misdemeanor or felony charge filed against you.
There are several ways that you can help your lawyer prepare your personal injury case. By avoiding saying these three statements to your doctor, you help ensure that your medical records and any testimony from your doctor will help your case as opposed to hurt your chances for a fair settlement. If you are concerned about what you should or should not tell your doctor, you should talk to a lawyer, such as those at Whiting, Hagg, Hagg, Dorsey & Hagg, about the laws in your state.
