While it may seem reasonable for the other driver’s insurance company to request a signed medical authorization form, it is almost always not in your best interests for you to comply.
The truth is that the other driver’s insurance company is not on the same team as you; it is not an ally, and you should not give it carte blanche to scour your entire medical history. The insurance company is not looking for information to help you. In fact, it is looking for information to use against you.
Before you sign anything, call the lawyers at Anidjar & Levine at 800-747-3733 for a free case review. We can advise you of your rights, and help you calculate all the damages for which you are eligible.
Here are several reasons you should NEVER sign a medical authorization form for the at-fault driver’s insurance company:
The Insurance Company Might Use Any Pre-Existing Conditions You Have Against You
Consider this scenario: Six months before your Fort Lauderdale car accident, you are fighting for a rebound in a pick-up basketball game, and you suffer a minor pulled muscle in your neck. You see your doctor, who prescribes an anti-inflammatory and tells you to ice the area twice a day for a week. After a week, you no longer have a sore neck, and you are back on the court.
Then the accident happens. Another driver slams into you from behind, their vehicle much larger than yours, and the resulting whiplash causes unbearable pain in the same area of your neck where your basketball injury occurred.
This time, you require much more than an anti-inflammatory to get better. Between physical therapy, chiropractic, and your regular doctor appointments, the bills are piling up – you are not too worried, though, because you expect the insurance company to cover these costs.
The only problem? When you signed the authorization form allowing the insurance company to peek into your medical history, it found the record of your basketball injury, an injury that happened to affect the same spot on your neck. Now it is arguing that a pre-existing condition contributed to your current ailment, and it is trying to pay you a lower settlement, or nothing at all.
The Insurance Company Will Be Looking for Inconsistent Statements
The insurance company will also be combing through your medical records in search of things that contradict any statements you made after the accident.
For instance, maybe you felt fine immediately after the crash, and a witness at the scene overheard you say as much. Perhaps you even went to the doctor or emergency room as a precautionary measure but told them you did not feel injured at all.
Weeks later, you wake up in the morning, and you cannot turn your neck to one side because the pain is so severe. You return to the doctor for treatment and start receiving bills, but when you try to pursue the insurance company for compensation, it refers to your medical records and the fact you stated you were fine after the accident.
It Is an Invasion of Your Privacy
Your medical history is among the most private pieces of information about you in existence. Why would you let a company that you are not voluntarily doing business with peruse it at its leisure?
While you must cooperate with your insurance company after a car accident, the same is not true of the other driver’s insurance. Let your lawyer be the one to deal with the insurance company, and do not volunteer any information or let it look at your private files.
Call Us Today
Before speaking with the other driver’s insurance company, call the Law Firm of Anidjar & Levine at 800-747-3733 for a Free Consultation.
