Let’s Talk Independent Medical Exams

You have a motor vehicle accident or a workers’ compensation case and you’ve been asked to take an independent medical exam. Essentially what this is, is the insurance companies have figured out ways to cut you off from getting treatment, and getting paid by sending you to their own doctor who is supposed to be “independent”. Let’s be honest that doctor knows where he is getting these cases are from. Some of these “independent” doctors haven’t been practicing in years or they don’t even have a practice as independent medical exams are their only form of income.

What happens in the exam

They do a physical exam which consists of some tests, they check your range of motion and then what they do is write up a report as to whether or not you are injured or you still need treatment.

What we do when we have clients going to independent medical exams are a couple of things:

We give you a list of instructions
We send an attorney or a staff member with you
If we are in a law suit we send a paid consultant who is a nurse to oversee the tests.

In that list of instructions we mention things like keep your answers brief, you don’t want to divulge more than asked. Remember what you say can and will be used against you. You still have to do what the doctor asks, like fill out their forms to the best of your ability, but you should answer their questions as briefly as possible.

If you get a notice from an attorney or the insurance company to go to an independent medical exam, you still have to go. Keep in mind this doesn’t stop your case, even if they say you are perfectly healthy you know better as no one knows your body like you. That’s why you have a good attorney who will fight these decisions and make sure you get the benefits you deserve.