How to Locate Old Medical Malpractice Cases
Locating old medical malpractice cases, whether against doctors, hospitals or other health care providers, requires some familiarity with searching public records. Also, the type of records you need to search depends on the age of the case. If you only need records dating back to 1990, a search of the National Practitioner Data Bank (see Resources) may be sufficient. However, a search for older records will require searching state licensing agencies, as well as county and federal district court information.
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Instructions
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Review the information available from the state medical licensing agency where an individual has his medical practice. Most states maintain searchable databases of such information that is publicly accessible through the website of the medical licensing agency, such as the Texas Medical Board. The information for the licensee can include prior malpractice cases or disciplinary actions that may have resulted from a malpractice case. (See Reference 1)
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Locate the state court website for the county in which the health care practitioner or health care entity is located. All state courts use computer databases to keep records of civil cases, including medical malpractice cases. Many courts permit online access to members of the public wanting to find case records. Case records can be searched by using the name of the practitioner or entity in question. The information provided in the records will include the type of case that was filed. Be sure to verify the coverage period for the database records to know how far back you can search using this method. Only a very few will go back more than 10 years.
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If civil case information is not available online or does not go back far enough for your purposes, go to the clerk's office for the county court where you are searching records. It will have computer terminals or microfiche files available for public use. If your search requirements include records more than two decades old, you may find the clerk directing you to a separate county facility where archived records are stored.
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Locate the federal district court for the county in which the health care practitioner or health care entity is located. You can search online for civil cases filed in the federal court through the federal court's website known as PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records). All federal court case records are accessible through this site.
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Tips & Warnings
There is no database with records of all civil cases filed in state courts throughout the country. Some online private companies offering public record searches seem to imply that such a search can done. Avoid using these companies.
References
Resources
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