For Medical Professionals: Sending Injury Referrals to a Law Firm

It is common knowledge that many injuries could have legal implications. As a result, medical professionals are often tempted to refer injured patients to a law firm that can provide legal representation and seek to recover damages. But are such referrals ethical? If so, which patients are a good fit for a referral, and how should referrals be conducted and documented? We tackle these important questions below.

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Is It Ethical To Refer a Patient to a Lawyer?

Yes, it can be ethical to refer a patient to a lawyer if the referral is in the patient’s best interests and the medical provider is not being influenced by personal gain. 

The American Medical Association’s Journal of Ethics provides standards for medical-legal partnerships (MLPs), which it defines as “interprofessional collaborations between medical and legal professionals designed with the goal of identifying patients’ health-harming legal and social needs.” 

According to the AMA, MLPs can both serve individual patients and address broader issues of health inequality. “In medical-legal partnerships, lawyers and clinicians are uniquely positioned to jointly identify and remove legal barriers to patients’ health, advocate for structural reform, and build community power,” it states. The National Institutes of Health adds that MLPs “train residents, students and other health care providers to tackle socially caused health disparities.”

The AMA provides an example of someone arriving at an emergency room with acute asthma for the third time in a month. The doctor learns that the patient is living in an apartment with mold. The patient will need legal advocacy to avoid continued harm from remaining in substandard housing. 

Even outside of a formal MLP, lawyers can partner with healthcare providers to protect patients’ interests, provide resources for needed medical care, facilitate information sharing among healthcare providers, and see that a patient sticks to a treatment plan. By the same token, knowledgeable healthcare providers are crucial for fairly resolving personal injury claims. Thus, if called for in a given case, a healthcare provider should be comfortable talking to a patient about the possible need for legal representation and providing a referral.

What Patients Are a Good Fit for a Referral?

Some patients are a better fit for a referral than others. In general, the best candidates are those who would clearly benefit from competent legal counsel. 

Some of these patients are exposed to chronic health hazards from their environment. For example, a patient who presents with symptoms indicating lead exposure could be living in a home with old lead pipes that are poisoning the water. If the home is rented, the landlord might be legally responsible.

Other patients might be facing long-term injuries due to an accident. Ongoing medical costs can be crippling, and an attorney can help the patient recover these expenses from the responsible parties.

Still other patients might need legal representation from a personal injury law firm if their insurance company refuses to cover medically necessary treatments or services. Although a patient can appeal such a denial themselves, the appeal process can be Byzantine, and a good attorney can greatly increase the chance of success.

A fourth category of patients who often need legal assistance includes those who have been injured at work. Such injuries can involve workers compensation claims and even lawsuits, and it is unwise for an individual to go it alone.

How Should You Discuss a Referral With Your Patient?

If you think a referral to an attorney would be particularly beneficial to a patient, do not attempt to give legal advice. In fact, specifically state that you are not in fact doing so. 

Rather, suggest that the patient might benefit from consulting an attorney. Stress that you are looking out for the patient’s well-being by providing all of the relevant support available to them, including legal assistance. Finally, explain in general terms what an attorney can do for the patient.

Good Medical Documentation That Supports a Personal Injury Case

Every personal injury case needs to be properly documented for the best chance of success. 

A good attorney understands how to use medical records to help prove that their client deserves compensation. 

Some of the most important medical records in a personal injury case are injury and treatment descriptions, records of doctor and hospital visits, diagnostic reports, and doctor’s notes that indicate the patient’s prognosis and needs for long-term care (if any). Billings statements are also vital for establishing the patient’s medical expenses.

Medical records should establish a direct link between the patient’s injuries and the underlying incident. This is crucial for proving that the defendant’s negligence caused the injuries.

Finally, it is important to note that whenever medical records are involved, they need to be handled in accordance with the Health Insurance Accountability and Portability Act (HIPAA). This law includes rules intended to protect patients’ privacy. Among other things, HIPAA requires that medical records only be shared with third parties who legitimately need to see them, including the patient’s legal team.