Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in New York

Received a letter from a hospital stating that if I want my mother's medical records, I will have to pay $670.00 and for privacy reasons all records will be destroyed if payment is not received within 60 days. Can they really destroy the records?

Thank you for your answer.


Asked on 10/05/09, 2:39 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Kristen Browde Browde Law, P.C.

The hospital can charge a reasonable fee for copying the record. Whether $670 is reasonable will depend upon how large the file is.

If your mother is alive it would be highly unlikely that they would destroy the records. If she is deceased and if there has been a suggestion of malpractice, then destroying them within the statute of limitations for malpractice would be equally unusual, and would lead to allegations that the hospital destroyed evidence intentionally.

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Answered on 10/12/09, 10:55 pm


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