An Indianapolis-based IU Health former patient filed a lawsuit against the health system for allegedly altering his medical records used in prior litigation, RTV, an ABC affiliate, reports.
Santos Cortez, a retired police officer in Indianapolis, sued IU Health in 2014 over wound care he received at the hospital. In 2012, Mr. Cortez was admitted at the hospital after responding to a drunk driving incident while on duty. He sustained serious injuries, which required weeks of medical attention and have since left him wheelchair bound, according to the report.
The lawsuit was settled in 2018. However, a third-party company handling Mr. Cortez's worker's compensation claim discovered numerous original medical records of Mr. Cortez's from IU Health did not match the records the hospital provided in court, Mr. Cortez alleged.
His medical records appear to have been "altered with added phrases" in four different cases, and the changes were allegedly made by therapists to reportedly favor IU Health against Mr. Cortez's claims, RTV reports.
In the new lawsuit, Mr. Cortez is seeking to hold IU Health accountable for using altered documents in the prior case, which constitutes forgery and counterfeiting, Mr. Cortez's attorney told RTV.
An IU Health spokesperson provided RTV with the following statement: "We are not able to provide information on active legal matters; [however], we are committed to providing quality care and service to all of our patients and their families."