Paperwork after being injured can be quite a hassle for someone. Add paperwork for a workers’ comp claims process to that and you’re soon going to be buried in it. You see a stapled piece of paper while in the hospital about a medical release that the insurance carrier asks you to sign. You frankly aren’t sure if you should sign it since you’ve heard rumors from others about it. You’ve heard that you shouldn’t sign it since it gives the insurance company a lot of information.
This is information the insurance carrier should not have about their customers. This information includes the customer’s medical history, which makes the customer’s claims process an uphill battle. With all this information at your fingertips, you are more than a little hesitant about signing the paperwork. You decide to call a lawyer to find out what they say about it. Let’s take a closer look at why you shouldn’t sign this paperwork. Don’t make a decision you will ultimately regret at a later point.
“It gives the insurance carrier an advantage over you in several ways.”
When signing a medical release, it gives the insurance carrier the chance to see your entire medical history. This gives them an advantage over you in terms of being able to see what illnesses you’ve had in the past along with what injuries you may have sustained previously. Because of this advantage, they could easily deny your claim. They could say that your current medical condition occurred because of a previous injury. This makes it increasingly difficult for you and your lawyer to win a claim against the insurance carrier for workers’ comp.
The insurance carrier would have the ability to ask you questions about previous injuries that they would normally not be able to ask. A lawyer would advise that you not sign over that information since it could make the process an uphill battle. You would have a much harder time proving that this injury was not caused by a previous medical issue. For instance, if you are dealing with pain from the injury that you may have dealt with in the past, the insurance company could say that the pain wasn’t from the injury. They could link it to pain you’ve been experiencing before, which means you would lose out on the workers’ comp claim you know you are worth. If the insurance carrier does decide to give you money, they would try to give you less money than you want to get.
There may be times where this medical release form is needed in a case, however you shouldn’t sign the form without a good amount of legal advice beforehand. It is possible to provide proper medical documentation of your current injury without signing the medical release. It is always a good idea to get legal advice on any paperwork you are asked to sign before signing anything.
Greenville, NC Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
I’m Brian Ricci, a workers’ compensation lawyer in Greenville, NC. If you or a loved one has sustained an injury at work, please call me at please call me at (252) 777-2222 or 800-387-6406 for free, friendly advice.
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