In the midst of a lawsuit, hospital destroys records. (Florida)

Whistle-blower lawyer blasts destruction of Halifax Hospital records

"The records we do have from 2005 to 2013 had extraordinarily high error rates," Wilbanks said. "We have no reason to believe the error rates in the destroyed records weren't as high."

Halifax spokesman John Guthrie said the hospital acted in compliance with Florida public records law when purging the files. The law requires hospitals to maintain patient records for seven years.

But the records law has no bearing, Wilbanks said. "You can't destroy evidence of any age if there's a lawsuit pending," he said.

Guthrie said hospital staff knew that, but "in the course of purging thousands of records, the team accidentally purged records.''

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/health/os-halifax-health-records-20131024,0,5048670.story