THE PHYSICIAN-PATIENT OR DOCTOR-PATIENT PRIVILEGE IN OHIO WRONGFUL DEATH CASES

Generally, in every personal injury case you cannot be required to disclose your medical history when it is unrelated to the type of injuries suffered in an accident. This information is considered privileged under the physician-patient or doctor-patient privilege. The purpose of this rule is to make patients feel free to tell their doctor the whole truth about what the patient is feeling or experiencing so that the doctor will have all the information to best diagnose and treat a patient.
 
When a patient passes away however, such as in an Ohio wrongful death situation, many people do not know if the privilege still applies or if the privilege dies with the person who held the privilege.  The answer is that in an Ohio wrongful death case the doctor-patient privilege does not die with the victim. In such a situation, the person who represents the victim’s estate typically has the power to step into the shoes of the victim and assert the privilege. This may be important for an Ohio wrongful death attorney to know in a situation where the insurance company is seeking improper information from the victim’s doctor, or where the death is the result of a physician’s malpractice and the defendant is reluctant to release medical records.
 
For more information about this subject go to www.Chesterlaw.com and request a copy of my free Book entitled The Insider's Guide to Handling Ohio Accident Claims. For those who have family members or loved ones killed in a motor vehicle accident, you can also order my free DVD entitled What you should know about motor vehicle injury claims. Both the free Book and free DVD describe in more detail what you need to know to protect your rights NOW.