Authorization for medical records

In any personal-injury case, the medical records are the spine of the demand. The hospital, the imaging center, the orthopedist, the physical therapist, the pharmacy - each one holds a piece of the picture. A signed HIPAA authorization lets us request those pieces directly so the client does not have to.

What the form does

• Names the firm as your authorized representative to receive medical and billing records.
• Lists the providers you have already seen, plus a catch-all for any provider that comes up later.
• Covers the date range relevant to the case (usually from the day before the incident through the present).
• Includes the mental-health and substance-use specific language HIPAA requires when those records are sought.
• Has an expiration date and a clear revocation paragraph.

What to bring to the signing

• A list of every provider you have seen since the incident - hospital ER, urgent care, primary doctor, specialists, physical therapy, pharmacy.
• Your insurance cards.
• A government-issued photo ID.

What we do with it

After you sign, we mail or fax the authorization to every provider with a written request for records and itemized billing. Most providers turn records around in two to six weeks. We track every request and follow up; you do not have to make any of those calls.

Ask for the current version of the form at your first consultation. It is one page, in English and Spanish.