Many times after a person is injured in a car accident the auto insurance company will ask the person to sign what is commonly referred to as a "blanket medical release." These types of releases are worded in such a way that they allow the insurance company access to a person's complete medical history, spanning all the way back to birth. The insurance adjuster (representative for the insurance company) will tell the injured victim that the release is necessary for them to obtain the medical information from their car accident so that they can then evaluate their case and make an offer. The adjuster would be right in telling you this, but it is what they don't tell you about these blanket releases that can destroy a personal injury claim. Once you give the insurance company access to your complete medical history they will often look for anything they can use against you to justify making a low settlement offer, even if it has nothing to do with the car accident! I remember one case where the client signed one of these blanket releases prior to retaining me. The client was rear ended in a car accident and suffered injuries to his lower back. The insurance company used the release he had signed to dig up information from a prior back injury he had over 10 years ago! The prior back injury only required one doctor visit and had long resolved prior to the car accident. Despite this, the insurance company argued that my client had a bad back prior to the car accident and that his injuries were a result of his "bad back." This is why it is important to have a personal injury attorney who can review any medical releases before you sign them.  In Ohio, the party at fault has to put the injured victim back to the state of the health they were in before the accident. Before the accident, the person was fine, and the insurance company had to pay the medical bills required to get my client back to where they were before the accident. Don’t let insurance companies play the pre-existing injury red herring game. Have a personal injury lawyer look at any releases you are asked to sign, and don’t make any recorded statements without a lawyer present.