Will My Past Injuries And Treatment Become Relevant In My Workers’ Comp Case?
Yes, very relevant.
Once you file a claim, your prior medical history becomes fair game. The defense attorney has the right to obtain your prior treatment records to determine what, if any, prior similar injuries you may have had. This obviously becomes relevant when the doctors have to render their opinion on causation- ie, whether the injuries are work-related.
Clients often ask me whether the insurance company can obtain medical records even if they don’t appear to be “relevant” to the current work injury. The answer is yes. The reason is because no one really knows whether the records are relevant until they are obtained and reviewed.
Medical records and the information contained in the records is the single most important facet of a workers’ comp case in Pennsylvania.
It is extremely important that you inform your attorney about what prior treatment you may have had for similar injuries, even if the prior injury was seemingly minor.
An easy way to lose your case is to fail to admit to prior treatment. You should therefore really take your time and look through your records to determine where you may have treated for past injuries, as well as the current injuries at issue.
Many injured workers in Pennsylvania will forget to do their “due diligence”, and while they don’t intentionally mislead the attorneys and/or doctors, if prior records surface that become relevant, and the worker didn’t recall such treatment, it can really impact a case negatively.
Call me for a free consult at (267) 651-7945 7 days a week.
