Question
Is it not my right to have a copy of my own medical records if I request it?
I have been on SSD and Hartford Disability for 3 years and Hartford sent me for a IME to a Dr. that did truck driver exams for Dot exams and workers comp injuries. I am off work for Meniere’s which this Dr. did not specialize in. But he did do a hearing test and did tell me that I did have Meniere’s in his opinion. This was done 4/14 and I have asked for a copy of this IME and was told that I could not have a copy of my own medical record but they would call me back around the end of May / the first of June, that they were having it reviewed right now by their team. They said they would send a copy to my Dr. and would call me when this was done so I could request a copy from him. I have never received this call. I call my Dr. yesterday and they said they never received a copy of it. My question is, is it not my right to have a copy of my own medical records if I request it?
Answer
Peggy, Hartford does not have a duty at this time to provide you directly with a copy of the IME report. However, if your claim were to be denied then they would have an absolute duty to provide it to you. It should also be noted that Hartford would typically send the IME report to your doctor for review and comment if Hartford was in the process of reviewing the claim for a potential denial of benefits. Other than that Hartford would not provide a copy to your doctor without a written request. If you have not already, I would suggest you make a written request to Hartford to send a copy of the report to your doctor.
