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Record Retrieval
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Record Retrieval
Record retrieval is a cornerstone of litigation support, and it's where LORR began.
Whether you need medical records, x-rays, business records, personnel files, payroll records, or police records, LORR understands how to work with records custodians and how to negotiate the bureaucratic maze of dealing with state and federal agencies, like the Social Security Administration.
Fill out our order form and fax it, along with any authorizations, to your local LORR office or your LORR representative, or e-mail us the information outlined in our order form.
Within twenty-four hours of receiving your order, we send a request by authorization to the records custodian or, in the case of deposition on written questions, send out the notice of intention. For DWQ requests, we contact the opposing counsel within three days to seek waiver of the twenty-day waiting period, and, if all parties agree to waive the waiting period, we begin gathering records immediately.
From there, our record retrieval experts work aggressively to ensure that records are produced timely and that all protocols are followed. We'll follow up with slow-moving custodians and keep you informed with status reports beginning twenty to thirty days after your order is placed.
Records are delivered bound, bates-labeled, with DWQ completed and affidavits signed and notarized. DWQ records are accompanied by a sealed court copy. Digital records are delivered by e-mail or on CD, or we can house your digital records with Filebound, a document management system that allows you access 24/7 via the internet.
Records Custodians' Requirements
- Medical – HIPAA has altered the medical-record landscape and is causing a significant number of records custodians to not respond to subpoenas without an authorization. Some custodians are asking for a statement of assurance, which we will prepare and e-mail to you to be signed and notarized.
- Social Security – SSA does not respond to subpoenas. It requires its own authorization, Consent for Release of Information, signed by the subject of the request.
CLICK HERE FOR LORR'S HIPAA-COMPLIANT MEDICAL AUTHORIZATION
CLICK HERE FOR SOCIAL SECURITY CONSENT FOR RELEASE OF INFORMATION
- Workers Compensation – the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers Compensation (formerly the Workers Compensation Commission) does not respond to subpoenas and requires a Form 153 authorization signed by the subject of the request, plus copies of the original petition and Defendant's answer. Send all documents to LORR and we will submit them to DWC, then we'll monitor the status of the request.
CLICK HERE FOR TEXAS DIVISION OF WORKERS COMPENSATION FORM 153
- Business personnel and payroll - some records custodians will obey a subpoena, but many require an authorization signed by the subject of the request.
- Police - no authorization is needed. Provide us with the agency from whom you are seeking records (police, sheriff, Texas Highway Patrol, etc.), the date of the incident, location of the incident, and the names of persons involved.
- Income tax – the IRS requires Form 4506, Request For Copy of Tax Return, signed by the subject of the request. You can obtain four years of records with each authorization. Send us the completed, signed form and we will forward it to the correct IRS location.
CLICK HERE FOR INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE FORM 4506
Call us with questions about other record providers.
When Will We Get Our Records?
That's the most frequently-asked question we receive. Here is a rough estimate based on the current state of records custodians:
Medical records - in the age of HIPAA, the flow of records has slowed. The majority of requests are completed within thirty days, but recalcitrant custodians - even with lots of follow-up calls - can take forty-five to sixty days to respond.
Business records - expect records within thirty days of your request.
Governmental records - obtaining records from the massive state and federal bureaucracies usually takes at least sixty days.
Police records - within thirty days.
