lost medical records

[admin]

The doctor and the hospital both seem to have lost my wife's medical records from the birth of our child. Is this a serious problem for them or for us? We have copies that we obtained shortly after the birth. Are our copies legally admissable? The Dr said he did a late term sonogram but we are certain that he didn't. There is no report of this anywhere including the insurance billing records (which we also have). Comments??

[JaimeC]

It all sounds very fishy....Holy cow....if you have medical records that were gotten through the right channels (through medical records), you're fine. The fact that they can't "find" them is just dumb on their part. Makes them look bad, and since you have a copy, I'm sure they're sweating. And no report of the sonogram anywhere is also fishy. If insurance doesn't have it billed, and they can't prove it with a record of some sort, then to an attorney or judge or jury - it didn't happen. Wow, sounds like a real mess. Do you have an attorney? They would eat this up...

[admin]

They lost our son's medical records....and when they returned....ha, ha, they were totally different than the ones that they lost...and I had copies of the missing ones...they looked ridicolous

[christy]

what they "don't" have they can't prove what they did...either way. I wouldn't be too willing to share my copy with them either but I think I would be putting them in a safe deposit box somewhere just in case they suddenly find their copy and they don't look anything like the ones you have! I know our risk management team would be biting butts over this at our hospital!

[admin]

It is a problem for you both. In many states lost medical records will lead to presumtion by the court that they were thrown away to hide medical malpractice. The legal theory is called spoliaton of evidence. This can lead to a judgment being enetered in your favor against the doctor or hospital. If you have a lawyer you should ask him/her what the law is in your state. If you do not have a lawyer, and you tell me the state, I can give you the information.

The problem for you is that you do not have the basic medical information you need to prove your case. You can recreate some of it from other medical records, but that cannot always be done.

In situations such as yours, you lawyer must take a very hard line on the spoliation of evidence issue.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Ken Levine
KLevine@annlev.com
617-566-2700

[admin]

Hello Kevin. I was born in Women's Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. The hospital is closed. Where are the medical records sent? Where do I look for this information. Yes, I would like to contact an attorny which handles this type of case.
Thanks, Linda

[admin]

my medical records and my sons were also lost or just misplaced. our lawyers is filing papers to obtain them now!

[Kimmie]

Our medical records along with the fetal monitor strip was lost... After the attorney was finished with his paperwork they appeared very fast.

[admin]

Ours were lost too and when they were found they were different than the original's that I already had.....we won our lawsuit and the defense looked really STUPID !

[admin]

I cannot believe how many times I have heard the missing records story. Just unbelievable!!! Just one more reflection of all the dishonesty that surrounds this injury. Sick.

And than there are all of us who have medical records but they speak everything but the truth. I am always just amazed by the unethical behavior that so often takes place. And to think, I used to believe that most people were actually honest, especially the professionals. What a joke!