Worker wants medical records protected during Workers' Comp process

CLARKSBURG - Corey D. Howard filed suit in the Harrison County Circuit Court on Oct. 21, naming Zurich American Insurance Co., MEC Construction LLC and Shaft Drillers International LLC as the defendants.

Howard is seeking a declaratory judgment that would keep certain medical records private throughout the course of his Workers' Compensation claim and/or lawsuit against the defendants. The case has since been removed to federal court

According to Howard, he was injured when he was run over by a 12 1/2-ton boom truck in April 2012. Howard says he was at his employer's pipe yard when the accident took place.

Following the accident, Howard filed for Workers' Compensation, but defendant Zurich denied his claim. Zurich subsequently sought all of Howard's medical records, including records that had nothing to do with the boom truck accident, he says.

Howard is concerned Zurich will disseminate his medical history and would not use it for the exclusive purpose of defending its interests in this claim.

Howard is seeking a declaratory judgment that would find Zurich's refusal to maintain the confidentiality of his medical records produces in his Workers' Compensation claim process incorrect.

He also wants a judgment that would require him to only produce medical records germane to the worksite accident as well as $75,000. Howard is being represented by Clarksburg attorney David J. Romano.

MEC Construction and Shaft Drillers International removed the case to U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia on Nov. 20.

The removal says the complaint implicates federal questions, such as whether a section of West Virginia Code violates the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Harrison County Circuit Court Case No. 13-C-413
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia Case No. 1:13-cv-00251