AllExperts > Personal Injury Law (Accidents/Slip & Fall) 
Search      
Personal Injury Law (Accidents/Slip & Fall)
Volunteer
Answers to thousands of questions
 Home · More Personal Injury Law (Accidents/Slip & Fall) Questions · Answer Library  · Encyclopedia ·
More Personal Injury Law (Accidents/Slip & Fall) Answers
Question Library

Ask a question about Personal Injury Law (Accidents/Slip & Fall)
Volunteer
Experts of the Month
Expert Login

Awards

About Us
Tell friends
Link to Us
Disclaimer

 
 
 
 
About Doctor Settlement
Expertise
27 years of front line plaintiff`s trial lawyer experience in PERSONAL INJURY INSURANCE CLAIMS. Along with other attorneys and insurance adjusters, we have created a website to help injured people settle their own personal injury claims. With the help from feedback from hundreds of satisfied members, www.settlementcentral.com has become THE AUTHORITY for Internet personal injury insurance claim settlements. I am humbled and honored if people can benefit from my experience and current volunteer work in helping injured people. I hope I can explain things in a manner that is useful for the questioner. If not, do not hesitate to e-mail me and I will take a second shot at it! Best Wishes for your physical and financial recovery.

Experience


Life Experience: 27 years of front line plaintiff's trial lawyer experience

Organizations:
American Trial Lawyers Association (AAJ)
Washington State Trial Lawyers Association

Publications: (Click on Title to Read)
Statute of Limitations
Vehicle Accident
Accident--Adjuster
Demand Letters
Policy Limits

Education/Credentials: J.D. (Juris Doctor) 1977

Awards and Honors: I am humbled and honored everytime I am selected to help injured people. And when people give feedback that they have benefited from my experience and current volunteer efforts, then that is a double honor and award for me.
 
 
   

You are here:  Experts > Jobs/Careers > Lawyers > Personal Injury Law (Accidents/Slip & Fall) > Can adjuster do this? Request

Personal Injury Law (Accidents/Slip & Fall) - Can adjuster do this? Request


Expert: Doctor Settlement - 3/24/2008

Question
hi. Im dealing with my landlord insurance co for a trip and fall. They hired an independent adjuster. He wrote me a letter saying i can sign a hipaa or i can forward everything to him so i did that. The lady for the main insurance co said my claim is at a halt because i didnt sign a hipaa and that she cant evaluate it w/o it. She has everythimg med records and bill also prior records going back 6years. Liability is pretty clear. Should i call her super?

Answer
Hello again, Gb,

Thank you for the great feedback and comments you left for me.  I appreciate that.

What I am going to do is to give you a public answer and then a private answer if need be.  For the private answer, all you will do is to make a brand new question and mark the response as private.  

The first thing I would do is to figure out just what it is that the adjuster is asking you to do.  Here is why.  Maybe she just feels that the form you sent to her via the independent adjuster did not have a satisfactory HIPPA acknowledgment that you are waiving certain rights.  If that is all it is, AND IF THERE IS NO MENTION OF HIV, etc. (as spelled out below), then just get her to send you the exact wording she wants, and then send it to me via the private response option on this website.  Likely you will just sign it.

ON THE OTHER HAND, if in fact what she wants is a HIPPA waiver of all of your rights to privacy concerning HIV, addictions, abortions, STDs, and the like, then you have two choices.  

I guess that before you make your choices, you might want to take a look at HIPPA, which was to promote privacy for consumers.  
Here are two HIPPA pages for your information.
http://personalinsure.about.com/od/health/a/aa041806a.htm
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/consumer_rights.pdf

Choice #1.  If you want to stand firm for what is right, then you can tell her to go fly a kite.  I am assuming that there is no way that any of those conditions could impact your injury treatment or your continued pain and suffering from the injury.  Your doctor reports will be the key.  If there could be anything you are suffering from that could be tied to something hidden (one of the kinds set forth above), then the adjuster has the right to look at those records.

If she insists that she cannot adjust the claim without proof that your medical records are silent as to any of those kinds of entries, then it is time to complain to the state insurance adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/links.php

I would include copies of your medical records to show that there is no need to go on a fishing expedition through your medical records.  Point out that one purpose of HIPPA was to ensure privacy of medical records, and it is not necessary to divulge private information in order to be compensated for a personal injury loss.  

I would argue that even if she does have a right to subpoena all of your records (as part of the discovery process should you commence a lawsuit), the office of the insurance commissioner should stand for settlement of claims, not litigation.  Hence, if the idea is to settle claims, we do not need to encourage fruitless fishing expeditions through the records of victims.  

I would argue that her real purpose is to discourage claimants from pursing the full value of their claims.  See what your insurance commissioner has to say.

Choice #2.  Many people just go with the flow and let them have all that they want to see since there is nothing to hide and they do not want to fight the adjuster.  If that is the case, then just sign off on her form.


So, in summary, if you want to get the form and send me the wording, use a new question, and make it for a private response.  That way you can tell me if you have any of the events above that people try to keep private.  

Good luck with this, Gb,

Dr. Settlement, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
Http://www.SettlementCentral.Com  

Add to this Answer   Ask a Question


 
User Agreement | Privacy Policy | Kids' Privacy Policy | Help
Copyright  © 2008 About, Inc. AllExperts, AllExperts.com, and About.com are registered trademarks of About, Inc. All rights reserved.