My insurance company wants to see all of my medical records before theyll cover my spine surgery. What should I do?

A: This is a common scenario, no matter how you were hurt or what type of injury you suffered.  Whenever the insurance company gets involved, they’ll do everything they can to avoid paying you what you deserve for your injuries – they’ll even do what they can to keep you from getting treatment that you doctor thinks you need.

If the insurance agent you’re working with asks you to sign a medical release form, please talk to an attorney and show them the actual form before you do anything.  Very often these forms allow the insurance company to review ALL of your medical records – even those that are not relevant to your current injury.

Why do they do this?  They want to see if you’ve ever had a similar problem before.  If you now need spinal surgery, they may be looking for evidence that you’ve had back problems in the past, which they may try to blame for your current condition.  The bottom line is that they don’t want to have to pay for an expensive surgery if they can find a way out.

Our advice?  Before you sign anything from the insurance company – talk to an attorney.