H.E.L.P. (Handy Education for Legal Professionals) Tip Sheet

January-February 2011 H.E.L.P. Tip Sheet

Every issue of our H.E.L.P. Tip Sheet has articles and links to help legal professionals, private investigators, and others with their research.

 

Articles

Want to become a crime scene investigator? Here's the real story: Click here

Colorado Medical Marijuana Legal Case: Second-Hand Smoke and Parenting Time
Click here

Going for the Best: When Private Investigators Hire Other Private Investigators
Click here

Interview with a Fire Investigator
Click here

Social Media: Online Investigations via Police Technology magazine Click here


Below are some handy research links, user tools and apps:

Black's Law Dictionary for iPhone and iPad Click here

iPhone Apps for Private Investigators Click here

emailfinder.com: Search by name for email addresses, or reverse search email addresses to see names associated to them Click here

Kicksend: Send large files via desktop, web or phone app
Click here

Changedetection.com: Know when a website changes Click here

convoflow: Search social media for real-time discussions Click here

 

Highlands Investigations's Shaun Kaufman is now a licensed Colorado attorney
Shaun Kaufman Law, specializes in trials, litigation, criminal defense
For free client consultation, call 303-720-7275


FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: What happens to medical records after a person dies? Do they enter the "public domain" so to speak? Or does "ownership" pass to next of kin? Are they more accessible to PIs and others involved in investigations after the person dies? How do you gain access, other than direct permission?

Answer: If the medical records are the subject of ongoing litigation, then any privilege is considered waived. Meaning, any time a person puts his/her physical condition at issue in litigation, the person waives medical record privilege which means the opposite side in litigation can obtain those medical records. However, even if someone is deceased, that person still retains privilege to the confidentiality of their medical records (privilege means nobody else has rights to those records). Now we'll throw a wrench into this understanding: when someone dies, the decedent's medical records, although they are privileged, are part of the estate and the executor of the estate can release those records.

So, in short, medical records never enter the public domain. To gain access, one needs a subpoena or to ask the executor for access.

 

 

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