How can i get someone to review medical records for a negligence lawsuit my husband almost died from lithium toxicity in jail. he has permanent disab. he is now in prison. the medical dept won't review his records so i have a power of attorney and am tryi

Typically, : Typically, it's your attorney who sends the hospital (or prison in this case) an authorization to release medical records. If the authorization is signed by the patient or legal representative (power of attorney), they cannot refuse to provide a copy of the medical records. They are allowed to charge for copies (in ny, it's 75 cents per page). If you are your husband's legal representative, you can send the prison a request for record copies yourself without involving an attorney as long as you have a signed authorization with either your husband's signature, or, if you have power of attorney, your signature. You must attach the power of attorney if it's your signature. There is a prescribed time by which they must comply with your request (after you pay them). If they fail to respond to you, lodge a complaint with the ohio state attorney general's office. The prison medical department has no obligation to provide you with a review of his records or any other interpretation of them. All they are required to do is provide a copy. If the prison has an arrangement with one or more medical facilities, such as a hospital, to provide their doctors to cover the prison, or send prisoners to a hospital for care, you should obtain copies of their records as well. Your attorney will provide a medical expert (for a charge) to review and comment on the records to ascertain if negligence occurred. Hope this clarifies things for you, and i'm sorry to hear about hubby's injuries.

Wow- : Wow- dr fox did an awesome job at answering that question. I don't know that anything can be added to his very comprehensive response, but there is also an avvo.Com site for getting legal questions answered.

Dr. : Dr. Fox gave you excellent advice on how to get the records you need. You will need to get an ime (independent medical exam) to review the records. I've attached a link below from a google search. Best of luck to you.