Medical Records

MEDICAL RECORDS RELEASE PACKET - INCLUDES COVER SHEET, EX-PARTE PETITION, CONSENT TO ORDER RELEASE OF RECORDS, AND EX-PARTE ORDER TO RELEASE RECORDS

Packet - Instructions and PDF Fillable Forms

This page is for: a person who needs a court order to obtain the medical records of a deceased person (the "decedent").

Medical records, even after death, are protected by law. You must petition the court for an order providing that the medical facility turn over the medical records to you. (NRS 629.061.) 

In order to obtain a court order that authorizes a hospital or medical provider to turn over medical records to you, follow these steps:

Step 1: Collect information.
Step 2: Have consent forms signed (if needed).
Step 3: Fill out the petition and exhibits.
Step 4: File the petition, exhibits, and supporting documents.
Step 5: Check the status of your case/receive your order.

Each of these steps are discussed in more detail below.

Step 1: Collect information.

 Before you begin, you will need to know the following:

• The name and address of every medical facility (e.g. hospital, clinic, doctor's office, EMT transport) from whom you want records.

NOTE! Make sure you list the facility that is holding the medical records you want. A doctor can work for a hospital and have their own clinic, so you will need to know who has the decedent's medical records. Use the facility name and address where you think the records are held, and when in doubt, list both. If you are looking for medical records to show the cause of death, you will want to include the facility and address of the place where the decedent died.

• The names of every person who has equal or higher priority than you to authorize the release of medical records. Here is the priority list under Nevada law (NRS 629.061):

1. The Personal Representative;
2. Any trustee of a living trust created by a decedent;
3. The parent or guardian of a deceased minor;
4. An investigator for the Attorney General or a grand jury investigating an alleged violation of the law;
5. An investigator for a state licensing board;
6. The coroner or medical examiner;

Step 2: Have consent forms signed (if needed).

 If you are the only person who has the highest priority, you do not have to complete this step. Move on to Step 3.

 If there are people of equal or higher priority than you, they each must sign a consent to the release of the medical records.

If you cannot locate a person whose consent is required or that person does NOT consent, you will fill out Exhibit "D" in the petition ("Declaration in Support of Petition for Order of Release of Medical Records") for each person.

Step 3: Fill out the petition and exhibits.

 You can complete an online interview that will create the forms for you. Click here to find the interview. Select the "Medical Records: Probate Petition for Medical Records (Clark County)" interview for an automated form generator. Once you finish the interview, your forms will be produced. Print your forms, sign them, have the consents signed by other parties if necessary and move to Step 4.

If you are filling out your forms by hand, use black ink and write clearly.

Complete the documents in the packet, providing all requested information in all of the blanks. You, the person completing the packet, are the petitioner.

Step 4: File the petition, exhibits, and supporting documents.

 You will file your petition with the Eigth Judicial District Court. The clerk's office where you will file your documents is on the 3rd floor of the Regional Justice Center, located at 200 Lewis Avenue, Las Vegas NV 89155.

There is no filing fee.

You will need several supporting documents when you file the petition. They should be attached to the petition behind the appropriate Exhibit sheet. You'll need these items:

1. A copy of your picture ID.
2. A copy of the death certificate.
3. A copy of the will, if there was one.
4. Consent forms filled out by the people of equal or higher priority than you who consent to the release of medical records, if there are such people.
5. An affidavit filled out by you explaining why the people of equal or higher priority than you have not filled out a consent form, if there are such people.

Step 5: Check the status of your case/receive your order.

 After filing your petition, check the court docket to see if anyone has filed an objection. You can go to the Eighth Judicial Court website and search under "Family Records" by the decedent's name to see if anyone has filed an objection. If an objection gets filed, the court might set the matter for hearing. Note that hearing date and attend the hearing. However, if there are no objections, generally the court will not set the matter for hearing.

 Once the judge has signed the order, you can wait for it to be mailed to you. If there are no objections filed to your petition, you can expect to receive the order in the mail about 3 to 4 weeks after filing your petition. You can also pick up a certified copy of the order at the clerk's office on the 3rd floor where you filed. You can bring that order to the medical facility and show them that the court has authorized the release of medical records to you. Some medical facilities might request to see the certified copy of the order.