Why do you need my notes and records for my dental claim
This is one question that I am constantly asked by my dental claim clients and my answer usually goes something like this:
The amount of compensation awarded in your dental claim depends largely upon the nature and seriousness of the injuries you have sustained. A medical assessment of your injuries will be undertaken by an independent dental expert who will base their findings on that assessment as well as on any relevant medical history recorded in your medical records (e.g. GP, hospital and treatment notes). It is therefore normal for me to obtain copies of your medical records in order to send them on to the independent medical expert, whether this be our own expert of that of the other side.
Your medical records form an important part of the expert’s assessment as they will need to identify any entries which are relevant to the dental injury for which you are claiming compensation.
For example, if you are claiming compensation for jaw problems, it is likely that any previous entries in your GP notes relating to other previous jaw injuries will be relevant for the purpose of compiling the comprehensive medical report. It may be that a previous jaw injury has left you more vulnerable to subsequent injuries and, whilst this may not affect the amount of compensation you receive, it would be classed as a material factor as far as the medical evidence is concerned so would need to be referred to in the experts report.
What if you refuse disclosure?
If you refuse to authorise release of your medical records to me or the other side your claim will be significantly hindered. The other side’s legal representative may consider that you have ‘something to hide’ – i.e. some material fact in your medical history that you do not wish to be disclosed. This may lead to doubt being cast on the authenticity of your claim.
If the other side need your notes and you refuse to disclose them, they may ultimately make an application to the Court for disclosure to be ordered. This will mean a hearing on why you do not wish for your notes to be disclosed and any arguments must be very convincing to persuade any Judge not to order disclosure.
Ultimately the Court may order disclosure and if you do not comply, then your claim will not proceed until disclosure has taken place.
Ultimately, the medical report forms the basis upon which your claim for pain, suffering and loss of amenity is valued. I will also use this report to compare your case with previously settled cases where the injuries suffered were similar to your own and took a similar amount of time to recover. It is therefore important that the medical report is as comprehensive and accurate as possible if your claim is to be valued correctly.
Who will actually see my notes?
The only people who will actually see your notes and records are limited to the Judge, each sides barrister, each parties solicitor and the medical experts; there is not really any reason for anybody else to see them so disclosure is limited.
We are of course all quite used to seeing medical notes and records and I can assure you that your notes are dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 in order to protect you.
Even if you do not feel completely at ease disclosing your medical records you should take comfort in the fact that I deal with clients notes regularly and whilst you may feel embarrassed by what may be recorded in your notes and records, you really do not need to be.