Recorded Statements and Medical Authorizations: The Two Documents to Never Sign Quickly

Published August 3, 2021 · Injury Law Basics

"I just need to get your side of the story on tape, and then I'll send over a form so we can get your medical bills paid." If you have been hurt in a crash in the last few days, there is a good chance you have already heard some version of that sentence from the other driver's insurance adjuster. It sounds helpful. It is the opening move in an effort to pay you as little as possible.

The two requests in that sentence, a recorded statement and a signed medical authorization, are the most common ways injured people damage their own claims before a lawyer ever sees the file. Neither is required. Both can wait. This post explains why, and what you do owe your own insurance company, which is a different matter.

Request one: "Can I get a recorded statement?"

The adjuster for the at-fault driver works for that driver's insurance company. His or her job is to evaluate your claim from the company's point of view and close it as cheaply as the facts allow. A recorded statement is a tool for that job, not for yours.

The questions are friendly, and they are designed with care:

• "How are you feeling today?" Most people answer "okay" or "I'm fine" out of habit. A year later, after an MRI shows a herniated disc, that recording becomes Exhibit A for the argument that you were not really hurt.
• "How fast were you going?" "How far away was the other car when you first saw it?" Nobody knows these numbers precisely. Guesses become "admissions" that are compared to the black-box data and the police report.
• "Had you ever had back problems before?" This invites you to volunteer a medical history the insurer will later use to argue that your injuries were pre-existing.
• "Is there anything else you want to add?" An open invitation to say something that can be used against you.

Statements are taken early on purpose. In the first week you have not been fully diagnosed, you are on pain medication, and you do not yet know what your injury will become. The insurer locks in that version of you.

You have no legal obligation to give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer. None. Saying no does not make your claim look weak, and it does not delay your property-damage repair. I wrote about this in an earlier post on recorded statements, and the advice has not changed.

Request two: "Just sign this so we can get your records"

A few days after the call, an envelope arrives with a medical authorization, sometimes called a HIPAA release. Read it before you sign it. The typical form the other driver's insurer sends is a blanket authorization. It usually:

• covers every medical provider, not just the ones who treated you for this crash;
• has no date limit, reaching back to childhood records;
• includes pharmacy, counseling, and mental-health records, and sometimes employment and wage files;
• stays valid for a year or more, or until you revoke it in writing.

With that form, an adjuster can comb through a decade of your life looking for an old chiropractic visit, a prescription for anxiety, or a prior sprain. None of that changes the fact that the crash hurt you, and Ohio law does not let a defendant escape responsibility because you were more vulnerable than the next person. But every old record becomes an argument, and arguments drive offers down.

The insurer is entitled to see records related to the injuries you are claiming. It is not entitled to your life story. The right way to provide records is for your lawyer to gather them from the providers who treated you for this crash, review them, and send them with the settlement demand, or to provide a limited authorization restricted by provider and date range.

Your own insurance company is different

Here is the distinction people miss. The other driver's insurer owes you nothing. Your own insurer has a contract with you, and that contract usually contains a cooperation clause and proof-of-claim requirements, especially for MedPay (medical payments coverage) and uninsured or underinsured motorist claims.

Ignoring your own carrier's reasonable requests can cost you real money. In 2020, the Second District Court of Appeals held that a Kettering driver's med-pay claim never became payable because neither she nor her lawyer provided the medical records and bills, or an authorization, that her own insurer had requested. Perrin v. Cincinnati Ins. Co., 2020-Ohio-1405 (2d Dist.).

So the rule is not "never cooperate." It is:

• Other driver's insurer: no recorded statement, no blanket authorization. Facts in writing through your lawyer.
• Your own insurer: report the crash promptly, cooperate as your policy requires, keep statements factual and brief, and have your lawyer involved if a statement or examination under oath is requested.

How to say no, politely

You do not need to be confrontational. Something like this works:

"I'm still being treated and I'm not going to give a recorded statement. I'm not signing a medical authorization right now. Please send any requests in writing to my attorney."

Then take the adjuster's name, claim number, and phone number, and end the call. If you have not hired a lawyer yet, you can say "please put your requests in writing" and stop there. Our guide chapter on dealing with insurance adjusters has more on what to say and what not to say, and Social Media and Other Mistakes That Hurt Your Case covers the other common missteps in the first weeks.

What a lawyer does with these requests

Once you are represented, the adjuster must deal with us, not you. In practice that means:

• Recorded statements to the other insurer are declined. Liability facts are presented through the police report, photographs, witness statements, and vehicle data, not through your memory on day three.
• Medical records are collected by our office directly from your treating providers, reviewed for accuracy, and produced in an organized package with the demand.
• Your own insurer receives what the policy requires, on time, so benefits like MedPay are not delayed or denied over paperwork.
• If the claim goes to suit, the defense obtains records through formal discovery, where a court can limit requests that go too far.

What this means for you

The adjuster's first two requests come when you are least able to protect yourself. You can be courteous and still say no to both. If you have already given a statement or signed an authorization, do not panic; tell your lawyer exactly what you said and signed, and an authorization can usually be revoked in writing going forward. If you are just starting out, our first-72-hours checklist walks through the rest of those early days, and our car accident practice page explains how we handle Dayton crash claims from the first call.