Attorneys Ladenheim and Sherman, along with Louis Sportelli, DC, are the editors of The Chiropractic Legal Update. Doctors are often eager to adopt a strategy which appears to offer them immunity from malpractice attack. One such ploy is the use of a general release which is signed before the doctor will release patient x-rays. This transaction is consummated at my specific request.
Some chiropractors refuse to release x-rays to disgruntled patients unless they sign the form.
They view the request for x-rays as a sure sign of an impending malpractice suit, and use of the form as a sure defense against it. Unenforceable At the outset, counsel, and doctor alike must recognize that the likelihood of a court enforcing such a release is remote. Forcing patients to sign a release before they may obtain their x-rays violates that section. The Hobson's choice for defense counsel was articulated in the court's note which observes that the contention that the release of the records was not conditioned upon the execution of the release is contradicted by the assertion that the transfer was the consideration for the execution of the release. Against that backdrop of probable futility, counsel must also factor in the likelihood of exposing his client to disciplinary action by even raising such a defense.