If you're thinking about suing your doctor for medical malpractice the first step is to get your medical records. They're important evidence. Remember one thing, medical malpractice (also called medmal) has a saying "If it isn't charted, it didn't happen." This emphasizes how vital accurate records are in a medmal lawsuit.

You'd think it would be easy to get your medical records, after all, they are your records right? All you have to do is ask for them and they will be handed over. Unfortunately, that isn't about to happen any time soon. You do have the right under a federal law called Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to see, copy and make changes to your records. This same act also protects your privacy.

Health care providers are bound to follow HIPAA and that means you usually have the right to copy your records or look at them. This must be done within 30 days of your request in writing. Expect to pay for the copying in Georgia.

You may make corrections to you medical records and ask to have incorrect information changed or have missing information added. You may be denied, and if so, you have the right to add a note to your file stating why you requested the changes etc.

If you're denied your rights under HIPAA, then you may file a complaint in Georgia with the Composite Board of Medical Examiners and the Georgia Department of Human Resources.

The major problem for you will be the fact that the doctor and the hospital will know before you do that they goofed up. It's likely charted in the file. It's not something they really want to be sharing with you if they think they are about to face a lawsuit. Ultimately that may mean lost, misfiled or wrecked records that make a medmal lawsuit more difficult to litigate.

In some cases you won't get the records unless pressure is applied. The best thing you can do to speed things up is to speak to a competent attorney with extensive experience in this area of law. They will issue a demand for your medical records on their letterhead.

Speaking of speeding things up. Time is of the essence in medmal lawsuits, as statutes of limitations may prevent you being able to file a claim if you wait too long. Speak to a lawyer and find out what your legal rights are, when the statute of limitations kicks in and how to proceed with your claim.

Even if you do succeed in getting your medical records, give them to the attorney you have selected. They have certified nurses on staff etc. that can quickly organize a file and figure out what information is missing.

Just because you may have information missing in your file, doesn't mean you don't have an actionable cause. This is why talking to an experienced lawyer may make the difference between winning and losing.