Q: My employer's insurance wants my entire medical record to file my back injury claim. Do I actually have to give that?
I am a healthcare worker who was exposed to an aggressive patient who caused a repetitive stress injury to my back over the course of my shift. I filed an incident report before clocking out and went to the doctor immediately, and due to timely intervention was back to baseline within a few days. Everything has gone well so far but the employer's insurance agency wants me to sign a release for my entire medical record. Are they allowed to deny my claim without it?
A:
I'm sorry about your injury. An experienced workers' comp attorney should answer your question, but it remains open for five weeks. As a GENERAL doctrine of insurance law in virtually any setting, insurance carriers generally have the right to request prior medical/accident records that are relevant to an injury at hand - but only an experienced workers' comp attorney who handles WC cases in Virginia is qualified to answer your question in a meaningful manner.
More important than the answer to this question, and maybe a move that could eliminate your need to deal with questions like this one, is your freedom to retain an experienced workers' comp attorney. If you don't already have one at this point, you should seriously consider reaching out to WC attorneys to discuss your claim - many offer free initial consults. Good luck and best wishes for a good recovery.
Tim Akpinar
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