Did a Lawyer or Insurance Adjuster Improperly Access Your Medical Records? Call Our Minneapolis Lawyers, Law Firms, Insurance Adjusters Health Record Privacy Lawyer

Your medical records are protected by state and federal law, even when you are involved in a lawsuit, an insurance claim or a workers’ compensation case. Unfortunately, some lawyers, law firms, and insurance adjusters cross the line by obtaining your protected health information without proper authorization. This may be inadvertently, thinking that they already had been granted access, or this may have been done deceitfully, trying to get an edge against you in your case. In either situation, it is an error for the healthcare provider to have given access without a proper authorization. According to the HHS Office for Civil Rights, impermissible disclosures of protected health information remain one of the most frequently reported privacy violations each year. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, and throughout Hennepin County, a lawyers, law firms, insurance adjusters health record privacy lawyer can help you fight back against these unauthorized invasions of your medical privacy.

Here at Kuhlman Law, our health record privacy lawyer Christopher Kuhlman helps Minnesota patients whose medical records were improperly obtained by opposing counsel, insurance companies, or claims adjusters. Chris understands how attorneys and adjusters sometimes try to circumvent proper authorization procedures to gain an advantage in litigation or claims disputes. If your records were accessed or disclosed without your written consent, you may have a claim under the Minnesota Health Records Act (MHRA). Contact us today for a free consultation to learn about your rights and how we can help you.

How Lawyers and Insurance Adjusters Improperly Obtain Medical Records

In litigation and insurance claims, your medical records are often relevant to the case. However, there are strict rules about how parties may obtain those records. Under the MHRA, healthcare providers must have your written, signed, and dated consent before releasing your records to anyone. Lawyers and insurance adjusters who bypass this requirement violate Minnesota law and federal law (HIPAA). A lawyers, law firms, insurance adjusters health record privacy lawyer can hold them accountable for these violations.

Common Ways Lawyers and Insurance Adjusters Violate Health Record Privacy

Legal professionals and insurance adjusters use various tactics to improperly access medical records during litigation and claims handling. The following are some of the most common violations that our Minnesota health record privacy violation lawyer handles:

• Contacting your healthcare provider directly to request records without your signed authorization
• Using an overly broad medical authorization to access records beyond the scope of your consent, such as accessing mental health or substance abuse records when only orthopedic records were authorized
• Obtaining your medical records through subpoena without following proper legal procedures under Minnesota law
• Sharing your medical records with unauthorized third parties such as expert witnesses, other insurance companies, or private investigators without your consent
• Hiring private investigators to obtain your health information through deceptive means
• Accessing your pharmacy records, prescription history, or insurance claims without proper authorization
• Pressuring healthcare workers to release information over the phone without verifying they have a valid authorization
• Tricking a family member to provide protected health information to them
• Using a power of attorney to obtain health care records without your permission or authorization
• When working on other cases that have the same treatment providers, talking to those providers causally about your case when there was no authorization or permission to do so
• Forging authorizations or consents in order to get the records, and
• Other violations of HIPAA and MHRA that our health records private lawyer in Minnesota could handle for you and your family.

Minnesota Law Strictly Limits How Lawyers and Insurance Adjusters Can Access Medical Records

The Minnesota Health Records Act (MHRA) imposes strict requirements on how anyone, including lawyers and insurance adjusters, may obtain your protected health information. Under the MHRA, any authorization to release medical records must be in writing, signed and dated by the patient, and specifically describe the information to be released, who may release it, and who may receive it. Authorizations that are overly broad, expired, or otherwise deficient are not valid under Minnesota law.

This means that even if you signed a medical authorization in connection with a personal injury case or a workers’ compensation claim, that authorization has limits. An insurance adjuster cannot use a limited authorization to access your entire medical history. A defense lawyer cannot use a records request to fish through years of unrelated treatment records. When they exceed the scope of your authorization, our lawyers, law firms, insurance adjusters health record privacy lawyer can help you pursue a claim under the MHRA.

Why These Violations Are Particularly Harmful to You

Health record privacy violations by lawyers and insurance adjusters are especially damaging because they occur in the context of legal proceedings where the information can be used against you. If an opposing lawyer or adjuster obtains sensitive medical information such as mental health records, substance abuse treatment records, or reproductive health information outside proper legal channels, they may attempt to use that information to undermine your case or pressure you into accepting a lower settlement. This is true even if those records are not relevant to your case – but could be used unfairly

These violations strike at the heart of the justice system. Patients should not have to worry that pursuing a legitimate legal claim will result in the unauthorized exposure of their most private health information. Under Minnesota Statutes section 144.298, victims of these violations may recover compensatory damages, attorney fees, and court costs. A lawyers, law firms, insurance adjusters health record privacy lawyer like Christopher Kuhlman can evaluate your case for free.

Damages Available When Lawyers or Insurance Adjusters Violate Your Health Record Privacy

If a lawyer, law firm, or insurance adjuster improperly accessed or obtained your medical records in Minnesota, you may be entitled to recover the following types of damages under the MHRA:

• Emotional distress and mental anguish caused by the unauthorized disclosure of your health information
• Lost wages or lost earning capacity if the improperly obtained information affected your employment
• Harm to your legal case if sensitive information was used to unfairly pressure you into a settlement
• Costs of additional legal proceedings to address the privacy violation
• Attorney fees and court costs in certain situations under the MHRA
• Punitive damages in cases involving intentional or particularly egregious misconduct, and 
• Compensation for other damages that are related to the MHRA violation and what our health records privacy lawyer may be able to recover for you and your family in Minnesota.

Steps to Take If a Lawyer or Insurance Adjuster Accessed Your Records Without Authorization

If you believe that a lawyer, law firm, or insurance adjuster obtained your medical records without proper authorization, contact our health record privacy lawyer Christopher Kuhlman immediately. Even if you already have another lawyer handling your personal injury case, Chris specifically handles health care provider violations – which many personal injury lawyers do not – and therefore he will likely be better suited to address this problem. He also handles personal injury actions, adding another layer of experience in handling issues like this.

Thus, as your health record privacy lawyer, Chris can request an accounting of disclosures from your healthcare provider to determine exactly who accessed your records and what authorization, if any, was presented. This is critical evidence for building a successful claim under the MHRA against a health care provider who has given away protected health information without a proper authorization.

You should also preserve any documents or communications that suggest your records were improperly obtained, including letters from opposing counsel that reference medical information you did not authorize them to have. This information can be crucial to proving your MHRA violation case, but it can also be important in your underlying personal injury case to obtain a preclusion order. Contact Kuhlman Law today for a free, confidential case evaluation.

Contact Our Minneapolis Lawyers, Law Firms, Insurance Adjusters Health Record Privacy Lawyer at Kuhlman Law For Help

If a lawyer, law firm, or insurance adjuster has improperly accessed your medical records, you have legal rights under the Minnesota Health Records Act. At Kuhlman Law, our lawyers, law firms, insurance adjusters health record privacy lawyer Christopher Kuhlman is ready to hold the responsible parties accountable. Chris provides free consultations and handles cases with no out-of-pocket costs to you or your family.

Call (612) 444-3374 or fill out our online contact form to schedule your free consultation with our Minneapolis health record privacy lawyer. Let us help you protect your privacy and pursue the compensation you deserve. We are happy to talk about your case over the phone, in person, or virtually. There is no fee unless we recover compensation for you, which we will push for the defendant to cover those costs under the statute. To learn more, contact us today before your time period to commence an action expires.