More details to this question:
Both me and my husband received a subpoena duces tecum today asking for medical records, medical bills, x-rays, receipts etc; all related to a car accident that happened 3 years ago. Apparently the clinic we went to is suing our insurance company for unpaid charges. It is the insurance company's attorney that issued our subpoena. We don't have any of these documents. We never paid anything (the clinic said they would bill insurance,) we were never given our medical records and we never really asked for them. We are not sure how to respond. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
1 ANSWER
Personal Injury Law Attorney serving Miami, FL
Partner at
Law Offices of Kirshner, Groff & Diaz
3 Awards
The law does not require you produce records that are not in your custody and control. You are not required to go to the doctors office and get the records.
You should respond to the lawyer in writing exactly as you explained above - you don't have any of the requested documents; you were never provided with medical records by the doctor's office; you do not recall every getting bills from the doctor, but you looked and either never had them or no longer have them; etc.
On the subpoena it probably says somewhere that you can mail in the records in leu of appearing in person. If that is what it says you should be fine, but for safety, after mailing and faxing the response, your should call and confirm that you do not need to appear. Get the name of the person you spoke with in the event they claim you did not call. Hope this helps, but if you have a lawyer related to the matter, you should call them for assistance with this.
Answered on Aug 29th, 2013 at 4:55 PM
Jonathan Groff is an AV Preeminent, rated Personal Injury attorney representing clients throughout Florida. (305) 661-3633; Mobile, (305) 302-8807