Questioned Medical Charts, Records and Sign-In Sheets

An example of examination results showing that a different ink was used to change the numeral on the document from a 9 to an 8, which suggests it was done at a later date than the original entry.

For cases involving questions of whether entries have been added after the fact, or if pages have been added or removed, the entire original medical chart must be produced in our laboratory for examination.

All testing that is done is entirely nondestructive, and our office is arranged so that opposing counsel may observe all testing through a glass panel outside of our instrument room.

Please note that we typically require at least two hours for examination of medical charts.

For questions involving the date of an entry, there are some nondestructive examination methods that can be helpful in answering this question. However, if ink dating is necessary, we will refer counsel to a forensic ink chemist for minimally destructive ink testing.

Another area related to medical records is sign-in sheets, or sweep sheets, both similar in that these records typically represent activities that occur over time. The usual question about these documents is whether they were created all at one sitting. This type of examination requires producing the original questioned document, as well as the originals of similar documents dated immediately before and immediately after the date of the questioned document(s).