What Your Injury Lawsuit Lets the Insurance Company See: Medical Privacy After Bokma v. Raglin

Published April 14, 2022 · Ohio Appeals Courts

Filing a lawsuit after a crash means trusting the court system with your story. Most people do not realize it can also mean handing over parts of their medical history they have never shared with anyone outside a doctor's office, including counseling and psychiatric records. A recent decision from the Second District Court of Appeals, which hears cases from Montgomery County and the surrounding area, shows how much the words in a complaint can control what the insurance company gets to see.

The case is Bokma v. Raglin, 2022-Ohio-960 (2d Dist.), decided March 25, 2022.

The case

According to the court's opinion, Karen Sue Bokma was injured in a February 2018 crash caused by an uninsured driver. Her uninsured motorist carrier was Allstate. After settlement negotiations with Allstate failed, she filed suit in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas against the driver and Allstate.

Her complaint alleged that she suffered "severe and permanent injuries" and "great pain and suffering, both physical and emotional." That phrase turned out to matter a great deal.

During the lawsuit, Allstate demanded that she sign authorizations releasing all of her medical records going back to February 2008, a full ten years before the crash. She objected because those records included psychological and psychiatric treatment and physical conditions she said had nothing to do with the crash. The trial court ordered her to sign. She then filed an affidavit stating she did not suffer emotional or psychological trauma from the crash, and she appealed.

What the court decided

Ohio law protects communications between a patient and a doctor from disclosure. That protection, called the physician-patient privilege, is found in R.C. 2317.02(B), and it also covers communications between a licensed psychologist and a client. But the privilege has an important exception. When a patient files a civil lawsuit, the privilege is treated as waived for records "related causally or historically" to the physical or mental injuries at issue in the case. Records unrelated to the claim stay privileged.

The Second District held that because Ms. Bokma's complaint expressly sought damages for emotional as well as physical pain and suffering, she had put her mental condition at issue. Her psychological and psychiatric records were therefore related to the injuries claimed in the suit, and the privilege was waived as to them. The court affirmed the order requiring her to sign the authorizations.

The court also noted that there was no indication in the record that she had asked the trial court to review the disputed records privately, a procedure called in camera review, before they were released.

Why this matters to you

This decision is not a reason to hide real injuries. Emotional harm after a serious crash is common and legitimate: anxiety behind the wheel, nightmares, depression during a long recovery. Ohio law allows you to be compensated for it, and in many cases it is a significant part of what a claim is worth.

But Bokma is a clear reminder that every damages claim comes with a price in privacy, and that the price is set early, often in the first document filed with the court. A few practical lessons follow.

1. The complaint is not a form to be filled out casually

Many complaints use standard language that sweeps in every possible category of harm. Bokma shows that a phrase like "physical and emotional" pain and suffering can open years of mental-health records to the insurer, whether or not the client actually intends to pursue an emotional-distress claim. An affidavit filed later did not undo what the complaint said.

The right approach is to talk through, before anything is filed, what the client has actually experienced, what records exist, and whether the benefit of claiming a particular kind of harm outweighs the privacy cost. That is a decision for the client to make with full information.

2. If you claim emotional harm, expect your history to be examined

If you were treated for anxiety or depression before the crash, the insurer will argue that your current symptoms are pre-existing. Ohio law still lets you recover when a crash makes an existing condition worse. Being honest with your lawyer from the start, about prior counseling, prior injuries, and prior claims, lets us prepare for that argument instead of being surprised by it.

3. Limits are still available

The waiver reaches only records related causally or historically to the injuries at issue. Unrelated conditions remain protected. When an insurer's request goes beyond that line, a lawyer can object, negotiate limits on providers and date ranges, ask for a protective order restricting who can see sensitive records, and ask the court to review disputed records in camera before anything is released.

4. Never sign the insurer's authorization on your own

Before a lawsuit is ever filed, adjusters send broad authorization forms that reach every provider and every year of your life. Our guide chapter on dealing with insurance adjusters explains why you should not sign a blanket authorization, and we wrote last year about the two documents never to sign quickly. Our chapter on mistakes that hurt your case covers the same trap.

5. Know your own records first

Before your lawyer drafts a demand or a complaint, gather your own records so there are no surprises. Our guide chapter on preserving documents and records explains how to organize them.

A note on uninsured motorist claims

It is worth noticing who was demanding the records here: Ms. Bokma's own insurance company. In an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim, your insurer steps into the shoes of the at-fault driver and defends the claim just as aggressively as any other insurer would. The fact that you paid premiums for years does not mean the company will treat your privacy gently. Our page on UM/UIM claims explains how these claims are handled.

What this means for you

Your medical history belongs to you, and you should decide, with good advice, how much of it a lawsuit will expose. Claim every harm you have truly suffered, but understand what each claim opens up, and make sure the complaint says what you mean and nothing more.