Is it a crime for a medical clinic to destroy personal medical records.
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Is it a crime for a medical clinic to destroy personal medical records.
A clinic to whom I provided
personal records provided to me by
the Veterans Administration were
purposely destroyed without my
consenting forewarned of action.
Asked on November 27, 2016 under Malpractice Law, Nevada
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
Unless some form of fraud or the like was involved in the destruction of your records, then it is a civil matter. That having been said, typically state and federal laws regarding record retention mandates apply to hospitals or similar facilities rather than to physician practices. Federal law includes HIPAA privacy regulations which require records to be retained for 6 years from when that the record was created and The Medicare Conditions of Participation (COP) requires hospitals to retain records for 5 years. As for specific state statutes, you can consult directly with a local attorney.
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