What is a Medical Authorization in a Car Accident Claim?

When you are involved in a car accident claim and attempting to recover compensation, you will need to negotiate with the other driver’s insurance company. There are multiple steps in the claims process that involve providing evidence of your injuries and damages to exhibit how the other driver’s negligence impacted you.

In an attempt to recover proof of your injuries, the insurance adjuster may ask you to sign a medical authorization. This type of agreement is a release of your health records. Although a medical authorization may seem like a harmless way for the other driver’s insurance provider to see the extent of your injuries, signing the agreement can contribute to a reduction of your settlement.

What Can an Insurance Company Get Access to Through a Medical Authorization?

Depending on the terms of the medical authorization, an insurance adjuster could be allowed access to many different health records. You may assume that they are only interested in the documents related to your current injuries, but a medical authorization can grant the defendant’s legal team access to more. This may include documentation of your pre-existing conditions or other unrelated health issues.

Should I Sign a Medical Authorization?

If an insurance adjuster asks you to sign a medical authorization agreement, do not do it without the assistance of our attorneys. Agreeing to release your medical records can be harmful to your case because it gives the insurance adjuster more control over the claim. It is possible that they will use the information in your records as a reason to deny or undervalue your benefits. For example, they may point to a pre-existing condition as “evidence” that you are exaggerating the impact of the collision, or that the injuries you are reporting are the result of a past incident.

Additionally, the records the insurance adjuster sees may not provide a full picture of the collision’s effects. Depending on the timeline of your case, your medical records may not reflect the full extent of damages just yet. The defendant’s legal team may attempt to minimize your settlement in these cases.

Call Our Attorneys First

Your medical records can be useful evidence in your car accident case, but you should never sign a medical authorization without consulting with a lawyer first. At Rafi Law Group, our attorneys can help you understand your rights following a car accident and build a case to get the full benefits you deserve. We are available to discuss the terms of medical authorizations and will advise you on making the evidence work for you.