From spinal fractures to organ damage, car accidents cause countless catastrophic injuries every single year. In fact, roughly 4.4 million Americans sustain bodily harm in motor vehicle accidents annually. If you join this not-so-exclusive club, you may be looking for prompt payment of your insurance claim.

When investigating claims, insurers often ask injured individuals to complete a blanket medical authorization. Before you sign this insurance form, though, you must know both what it is and how it may affect your claim.

What is a blanket medical authorization?

A blanket medical authorization is an insurance form that gives adjusters permission to review your medical records. Unfortunately, however, adjusters do not have to stick to records that relate to your car accident claim or accident-related injuries. That is, a blanket medical authorization may give adjusters the legal right to see every detail in your medical history.

How may a blanket medical authorization affect your claim?

If having an employee of a large insurance company know your intimate medical details makes you shudder, you are far from alone. While adjusters clearly need some information about your injury and treatment plan to settle your claim, they may not have your best interests in mind when reviewing your medical records. An adjuster may use a prior diagnosis, preexisting injury, medication or something else as a pretext to deny your claim or to offer you substantially less than you deserve.

Ultimately, whether you should sign a blanket medical decision is a personal and legal question you may eventually have to answer. Carefully considering your options may keep you from worsening an already bad situation.