It can't be that novel; pretty much every insurance contract I've ever seen has language along the lines of "you agree to let us sue on your behalf to recover costs". But the letter struck me as a little crass not because they seek to recover costs but because her medical records clearly show that it wasn't the result of an identifiable injury. They didn't need to hassle her; they already had the information.
her medical records clearly show ... they already had the information.
Actually, I'm pretty sure that insurance companies do NOT have actual copies of your medical records. I think they only get medical records if they request it and with your consent. What they get is a claim form with the ICD-9 code.
When I fell down a flight of stairs in November 2004, I received (several months later) a request for information from the insurance company. Obviously no one could be that stupid to have such a fall on their own property. I must have been somewhere else and employed by someone when it happened. Who can they sue to recover costs? Worse, it defaulted to the assumption that there must be someone to sue. The problem with that was that I had to provide proof that it wasn't an accident for which someone else might have legal liability, or they were going to hold me accountable for all fees that resulted from the fall.
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That's just a novel way of reclaiming their costs.
/sarcasm
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Actually, I'm pretty sure that insurance companies do NOT have actual copies of your medical records. I think they only get medical records if they request it and with your consent. What they get is a claim form with the ICD-9 code.
When I fell down a flight of stairs in November 2004, I received (several months later) a request for information from the insurance company. Obviously no one could be that stupid to have such a fall on their own property. I must have been somewhere else and employed by someone when it happened. Who can they sue to recover costs? Worse, it defaulted to the assumption that there must be someone to sue. The problem with that was that I had to provide proof that it wasn't an accident for which someone else might have legal liability, or they were going to hold me accountable for all fees that resulted from the fall.
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