Importance of Medical Record Summaries for Personal Injury Attorneys
Medical records play a
great role in personal injury lawsuits and workers’ compensation claims. They
provide all the details of anyone’s health conditions, including their health
condition before, during, and after an incident. Other than that, they also
include detail of the cause, severity, and prognosis of anyone’s injury.
Before appearing for a
trial or during the pre-litigate settlement process, the attorneys need to
study and understand the complete medical record to use them as evidence to
claim good compensation. Medical
record summaries have all the necessary records of anyone’s health
history.
Collection of Medical Records
First of all, all the
medical records are collected. In other words, it will be better to say that
the medical records are collected from all the possible sources to gather all
the information. It will include different types of notes – both handwritten
and electronic, including doctors’ prescriptions, test results, medical
diagnoses, X-rays, discharge papers, vaccination details, and any other report
provided by the healthcare specialists.
Medical Chronology
In the case of
personal injury trials, medical case chronology is the most important evidence.
Also, the attorneys need to have the medical case chronology in their hands
before the trial if they wish to win the case. After all, it helps the attorney
to claim the deserved settlement during the trial. Here is a list of some
common denominators in the medical case chronology.
·
Date of the
accident or hospitalisation
·
Diagnosis and
treatment
·
Doctor or
nurse observation
·
Prescription
·
Alternative
treatment
·
Impact of the
injury
·
Procedures
·
Follow up
medical treatment or case
·
Doctor or
nurse’s notes
Medical Record Accuracy
Other than gathering
all the medical records, it is also vital that all the medical records are
arranged accurately. Lawyers and paralegals do not have the innate knowledge
that is required to understand the medical terminologies and organise all the
records properly. So, it is better to depend on professionals in medical record
review services who have the proper training and knowledge to develop a summary
from all the reports. They will create comprehensive medical record summaries in
a legible format with complete accuracy. Professional medical record reviewers
can quickly uncover missing information and detect repetitions in physical
observation notes.
Medical Evidence
The authentication of
medical records plays a crucial role in personal injury trials. The lawyers
need to ensure the complete authentication of the medical record summaries
before the trial. Even a small error in the medical evidence can act as a
loophole for the defendant’s side and can pass a motion for mistrial. So, the
medical evidence should be verified at the source of collection and make sure
that they are true.
Key Takeaway
Medical record
summaries are an important source of evidence for personal injury trials or
lawsuits. Attorneys depend on them a lot to solidify their case and claim the
deserved compensation for their personal injury clients. When it comes to
creating authentic and valid medical record summaries, it is better to rely on
professionals.
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