Medical patients in America enjoy the right to privacy surrounding their medical records. Regardless of why you may or may not wish to keep your medical records private, your medical care providers owe you a duty to keep your information confidential. Nonetheless, sometimes a medical care provider does improperly disclose your records, which may cause you numerous types of harm.
After improper medical record disclosure, you may feel as though you have no options to fight back, but that may not be true. In many instances there are legal remedies to medical record exposure, or the party responsible for the disclosure might take it upon themselves to recover the disclosed records.
Is there a simple solution?
The possibility of legal action is often enough to compel the party who disclosed your medical records to do whatever they can to make things right. Depending on the nature of the disclosure and the harm you suffered, the provider who disclosed your records may have ways to retrieve them and destroy any duplicates to rebuild your privacy. Even if you still choose to move forward with a lawsuit, you should see what the provider can do to correct the mistake.
Is someone trying to force exposure of your records?
Sometimes a person’s medical records may prove relevant to an ongoing investigation or legal dispute. If you face this, you may require legal guidance to help keep your medical information secure.
Maintaining medical privacy, regardless of the reason, is an important priority. You never know how someone may choose to use your medical information against you. If you do not make this a priority, you risk irreparable damage to your reputation or even to your livelihood or insurance coverage.
Unless you build a strong justification for maintaining your privacy, elements of your medical history, including your mental health, may transition to public knowledge rather than private. Someone may also use knowledge of your medical records against you, bringing into question your ability to care for a child, for instance. An investigation into a criminal matter may want to use your medical records, and seek to do so even if you do not consent.
No matter how this exposure occurs, it violates your rights as an individual. Don’t waste any time reaching out to a Chicago medical malpractice attorney who can help you assess the violation you experienced and determine strategies to defend your rights and protect your interests.