legal documents

[Mom in Pa]

My Ex is taking me to court for custody of our 2 boys. Court papers are filed in CA and I live in PA. My 2 boys and I have lived here for 3 yrs now.
In the mail from his lawyer, I recieved a copy of there petition to show cause. In it were copies of medical records. Not copies of the whole medical record, just bits and pieces. Most didnt have a date on them. Arent they supposed to supply the whole medical record? With dates?? Also, I'd like to add, I've been blocked from obtaining the boys medical records. If the judge could see the entire file, my ex wouldnt have a case. So, is what they are doing legal?

 

[LegalBeagle]

My Ex is taking me to court for custody of our 2 boys. Court papers are filed in CA and I live in PA. My 2 boys and I have lived here for 3 yrs now.
In the mail from his lawyer, I recieved a copy of there petition to show cause. In it were copies of medical records. Not copies of the whole medical record, just bits and pieces. Most didnt have a date on them. Arent they supposed to supply the whole medical record? With dates?? Also, I'd like to add, I've been blocked from obtaining the boys medical records. If the judge could see the entire file, my ex wouldnt have a case. So, is what they are doing legal?

They can do anything they want.. you however can not be blocked from obtaining medical records of the children.

http://www.deltabravo.net/custody/access1.htm#CA

 

[jeanine]

Oh really? My husband followed deltabravo's instructions to obtain his son's medical records and he still hasn't received anything after two letters to the doctor. Short of going to the doctor's office and demanding the records (i.e. causing a scene), what is his next step??????

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Oh really? My husband followed deltabravo's instructions to obtain his son's medical records and he still hasn't received anything after two letters to the doctor. Short of going to the doctor's office and demanding the records (i.e. causing a scene), what is his next step??????

My response:

That's because there are NO instructions to follow, and your husband is talking to the wrong person. The doctor is under no obligation by law to release the medical records; e.g., there is no court order requiring the doctor to divulge the medical records to anyone - but the doctor may choose to give them to the custodial parent. Further, the doctor doesn't have to divulge the information without being paid; i.e., staff time and copy costs. No money, no records.

So, your husband needs to demand the records from his ex-wife, or from her attorney, in writing, with an offer of reasonable payment. If that method fails to obtain results within 30 days, then he must file an Order to Show Cause with the court against the ex-wife, to have the judge render an Order causing the ex-wife and/or her attorney to obtain the records and turn them over to him.

IAAL

 

[jeanine]

Thanks for your response. But according to NYS Public Health Law, a medical provider has ten days to provide requestd medical information to a qualified person. In this instance, the qualified person is the parent (as defined in this same section/article, the parent is defined as a qualified person.) Now what? He sent the doctor a note stating that passage and still nothing.

At this point I think my husband should complain to his insurance company since he is the insurance provider for the child and also to the NYS Office of Professions!

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Thanks for your response. But according to NYS Public Health Law, a medical provider has ten days to provide requestd medical information to a qualified person. In this instance, the qualified person is the parent (as defined in this same section/article, the parent is defined as a qualified person.) Now what? He sent the doctor a note stating that passage and still nothing.

At this point I think my husband should complain to his insurance company since he is the insurance provider for the child and also to the NYS Office of Professions!

My response:

Jeanine, unbeknownst to me, and only when you mentioned it in your post, above, did I discover that you're talking about NY law.

LegalBeagle and I were talking about California law - - the link given by LegalBeagle pointed to the law in California on the Delta Bravo site. That's because our original writer was discussing California law. Then, you wrote your problem, but didn't tell us your State name, and LB and I presumed that you, also, had a problem with California law. It's extremely important that you always tell us your State name, each and every time you write on these boards.

Obviously, California law doesn't work in your neck of the woods.

IAAL

 

[jeanine]

Sorry! I usually put it in, but this time I was excited to see someone else asking a similar question. I'm bad!

So any insight on what next?

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

So any insight on what next?

My response:

Unfortunately, no. As a Calfornia practitioner, this is one area of law that really requires research (as you can see, the law and rules are quite lengthy) and almost an intimate, daily, practice of New York family law. As you can see, it's quite a complicated process, and I have no access to New York case law interpreting that New York statute.

Just keep plugging away at your husband's attorney for avenues to obtain the requested information.

Good luck, Jeanine.

IAAL

 

[Mom in Pa]

Even though on our divorce papers it states that neither parent shall be blocked from obtaining medical/school reports, he can still block me? Is that something to bring up in court during the custody hearing?

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Even though on our divorce papers it states that neither parent shall be blocked from obtaining medical/school reports, he can still block me? Is that something to bring up in court during the custody hearing?

My response:

You can try . . . however, if there's a subject that isn't before the judge on paper at your next hearing; i.e., in an Order to Show Cause, properly filed and served, there's a 75% chance that the judge won't hear your medical records issue. I would suggest that you file your own O.S.C. after you've made a formal, written letter request to your ex, or to your ex's attorney, to deliver the records voluntarily to you. Always send any letters by Certified, Return Receipt, mail.

Then, like I said in a previous response, after a reasonable amount of time, e.g. 30 days, and the medicals aren't delivered, then file your O.S.C.

Good luck.

IAAL