medical/school records

I am in Arizona, and have custody of one child. My x lives in California, and has custody of my other child. I am trying to access my son's medical/school records from California.

I sent out the form letter listed on the delta/bravo site to both the school and the doctor. The school responded immediately, informing me of how worried they are about my son. They have called, written, and faxed all information. I have learned that the truancy office and social services are both involved. It was as if they were just WAITING for a father to appear. (I am listed as "unknown" on all paperwork) Kudos to the school. HOWEVER,

The doctor called immediately, and said that although they would like to help, they have contacted their attorney, and they do NOT in fact have the right to release any of my sons medical information to me.

I have also written a letter of demand to my x for the 5000.00 that is owed to me for the past 5 years of medical expenses for the child I have. She has not replied to this letter.

My questions: Do I in fact have the right to my sons medical records, and since the letter didn't work, how do I get it?

Is there any way short of hiring a lawyer, to force the x to pay all the medical bills that she is responsible for? Would it be order to show cause for contempt or what? If she claims "disability" and cannot work, therefore does not have the "means" to pay anyway, would I be wasting my time?

Thank you for your time.

My response:

Access to records and information pertaining to a child, including but not limited to medical, dental, and school records, may not be denied to a parent because he or she is not the custodial parent. [California Family Code §3025].

Fam. Code Sec. 3025. "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, access to records and information pertaining to a minor child, including, but not limited to, medical, dental, and school records, shall not be denied to a parent because that parent is not the child's custodial parent."

The doctor and his attorney, therefore, are wrong. Obviously, neither of them are versed in Family Law.

It is up to you to enforce your rights.

IAAL

[Edited by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE on 06-30-2001 at 08:11 PM]

Thanks, IAAL, for the info. I will formulate another letter, and include the reference to that particular law.

I had a feeling they were just trying to appease the mother, as she is VERY angry that I'm finding out about my son. She has cut off ALL contact with me since she found out about the school releasing info.

Perhaps that will be enough to give them the push they need to send me his info. It's actually getting quite scary.

Thanks again for the help, I'll let you know if they reply this time. Any thoughts on the mother's arrearages part of my post? One lawyer told us it would be too expensive to pursue, and she couldn't pay anyway so why bother...wait until she tries to increase child support, then address it at that time??? Just wondering....

child support arrears

i am a mother who is behind in child support and disabled. that didn't matter to the x or the judge. i was found in contempt and have a judgement against my auto accident personal injury case. i didn't owe very much, but with interest, his attorney fees, court costs, medical insurance premiums, and medical bills, it added up fast. i can't work and they didn't care. so it might be worth the effort, but i think i would talk with a different attorney. hope it works out for you. i am in texas and not in california, so the lawyers and judges may be different.

update

IAAL,
I have rewritten the letter, and included the above mentioned reference to Ca. law. I also requested that should they again decide to deny me the information, that they send their refusal to me in writing and by certified mail, and enclose their own reference to the laws which allow them to do so.

Their lawyer called today to say he has gotten the letter, and will be researching it. His job is to "protect his clients a**". He is supposed to call tomorrow with a response.

My question is this: My divorce papers (AZ) state: Respondant (her) shall have sole care, custody, and control of minor child...etc. Will the Ca. law (jurisdiction) "regardless of the parent not being the custodial parent" override the "sole" part of the Arizona decree?

If he calls back tomorrow and says this is the case, I need to know how to respond!

Thank you for your time.

My response:

I don't see any exceptions in the above-quoted law, do you ?

I don't care if it's sole, joint, shared, or other, custody because it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that YOU are the parent, and by virtue of that fact, are entitled to YOUR child's medical records under this law.

That's it. Period. End of Story.

The noncustodial parent cannot be denied access to records and information about the child (including, but not limited to, medical, dental and school records) simply because he or she does not have custody. [Ca Fam § 3025]

Likewise, the noncustodial parent generally has a right to know the child's address and school (and, undoubtedly, the child's phone number) . . . except in certain domestic violence or child abuse situations where disclosing "location" information could endanger the child. [See Ca Fam §§ 3030(e), 3031(b), 3100(d), see also Marriage of Oldfield (1979) 94 Cal.App.3d 259, 263, 156 Cal.Rptr. 224, 225--history of "confrontation" between parents not itself sufficient to deprive father of knowledge of child's whereabouts]

(Conversely, the custodial parent should have a right to know the noncustodial parent's address and telephone number during visitation periods.)

So, he can research his butt off, and it won't make one bit of difference.

IAAL

[Edited by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE on 07-19-2001 at 11:52 PM]

Outstanding! Thanks IAAL, I'll keep you posted...

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE said:

So, he can research his butt off, and it won't make one bit of difference.

Click to expand...

The funny thing is.. in the time it took him to write the letter, the attorney could have research the statute and realized the position.

LegalBeagle said:

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE said:

So, he can research his butt off, and it won't make one bit of difference.

Click to expand...

The funny thing is.. in the time it took him to write the letter, the attorney could have research the statute and realized the position.

Click to expand...

My response:

Asute observation. This is not one of those Statutes that has been extensively discussed in case law. In fact, it has never been discussed at all. The above information, with the exception of the Legislative History, is all the information there is concerning the above-stated Statute.

IAAL

update

After not having heard back from the lawyer, I finally called him back today. I thought you might be interested to know that he has instructed the medical staff to send the records. I should have them in 7-10 days!

Thanks for your help! (Hopefully, they will actually be sent!)

My response:

Damn, I didn't want that to happen at all !

I was gearing up for a great lawsuit, and lots of damages and attorney's fees. Damn ! Don't you just hate it when attorneys and medical providers actually comply with the law ?

No, no, no, this is wonderful news. So, when they send the records, go through them carefully to see if anything is out of sync - - dates, ailments, studies, etc., to make sure nothing has been "left out inadvertently" (you know THAT can happen with honest people, right? Yeah, right.).

Also, if they don't send the records within 14 day (give them some lee-way), then the next letter you'll send will be a "I've hired an attorney to commence an action against you, my ex-wife, and the health care provider" type letter.

Good luck to you.

IAAL

[Edited by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE on 07-25-2001 at 11:17 PM]

IAAL,

I have received the records, and I have another question.

The doctor discharged her for...I'll call it violation of proceedure...so my son is no longer a patient there. That was in December. Who he is seeing now I do not know.

More disturbing though, is that the involvement of social services is/was more serious than I had imagined. Because my son is still with her, I am guessing that the investigation is still ongoing, or that they did not find enough evidence to remove him from the home.

My question is, does this law cover the goverment agency handling this investigation? The "no exceptions, and 'including, but not limited to...'" would seem to suggest yes, but sometimes state agencies have a way of excluding themselves.

Would I be able to send a similar letter to the agency, and expect the same favorable results?

Thank you.

shamolee said:

IAAL,

I have received the records, and I have another question.

The doctor discharged her for...I'll call it violation of proceedure...so my son is no longer a patient there. That was in December. Who he is seeing now I do not know.

More disturbing though, is that the involvement of social services is/was more serious than I had imagined. Because my son is still with her, I am guessing that the investigation is still ongoing, or that they did not find enough evidence to remove him from the home.

My question is, does this law cover the goverment agency handling this investigation? The "no exceptions, and 'including, but not limited to...'" would seem to suggest yes, but sometimes state agencies have a way of excluding themselves.

Would I be able to send a similar letter to the agency, and expect the same favorable results?

Thank you.

Click to expand...

My response:

Yes, the law even mandates State agencies to comply.

However, what's more disturbing is the fact that your child has been discharged since December. Obviously, your ex-wife, the attorney, and the doctors have not given you all the records of subsequent Health Care Providers. Therefore, you're going to write one final letter to the attorney demanding the names, addresses and telephone numbers of ALL Health Care Providers for your child, from the beginning of 1999 through to the present time, or you're filing an "Order to Show Cause" and ask for damages, attorney's fees and costs. Tell him "you are only delaying the inevitable"; that he can do this the easy way or the hard way, the choice is his and his client's. But, by hook or by crook, you're going to get the demanded information.

Good luck to you.

IAAL

I have received additional information from the doctor, including the "entire" medical record from primary physician. Last entry is about 1 month ago.

No response yet from state agency.

I had not received my sons final report card, so I called the school, and they are going to send it. The school also informed me that my ex succeeded in "homeschooling" my son for this year. He had missed over 45 days of school last year, had truancy officers involved as well as mandatory SARB meetings. By being a homeschooler, she has apparantly eliminated this risk. The last place my son should be is home alone all day with mom.

I know very little about homeschooling, and how records are kept and who will be the watchdog for my son. Is there a way that homeschool records can also be available to me?

Thank you for any more help you can give.