Can I hand over patient's medical records to a lawyer?
Full Question:
Answer:
We cannot give legal advice, and are not forming an attorney-client relationship with you. The following is not a substitute for the advice of a local attorney. But we hope the information will be useful.
The lawyer is acting as agent for the patient. A patient has a right to obtain their own medical records, so there is nothing you can do but hand over the copies - it is no different than if the patient was asking for them.
Yes, of course you can ask why the lawyer wants them. But he would not be required to respond. If he said he was suing you, you'd still have to hand them over. They are the patient's records and the patient is asking for them.
Unless you are being sued, you could certainly contact the patient and ask if there was any trouble, anything you could do, etc, without making any admissions of fault. Once you have been sued, the patient can ask that you only communicate with him/her through their attorney.
Good luck.