Is access to my medical records important in a clinical negligence claim?
Clinical negligence can be established by accessing your hospital or doctors’ surgery medical records under the Data Protection Act 1998. Usually, you will be asked to complete a form to access their records. They are required to comply with your request within 40 days.
Access to your records can be refused if in the opinion of the record holder disclosure would cause serious harm to your physical or emotional health. Parts of the records can be redacted for the same reason. You can ask the record holder to insert a corrective statement in your records.
If you are not happy with the response to your request, you can complain to the Data Protection Registrar. If you are unhappy about the response to your request for access you can make a complaint through the NHS complaints procedure or to the Information Commissioners Officer who has the authority to demand the destruction, removal or blocking of erroneous information.
Our specialist Clinical Negligence Solicitors have dealt with many claims over the years and have extensive experience in this area.
To discuss a potential claim, contact us on freephone 0800 011 6666 or via email at legal@timms-law.com.