Personal Injury Medical Exams and Reports

When a Plaintiff claims an injury, he puts his medical condition at the heart of a lawsuit.  A person’s medical history plays an important role in proving causation in a personal injury lawsuit.  For example, a person with a history of back pain will have a harder time convincing a jury that a back injury was caused recently due to an accident than a person with no history of back pain prior to an accident. 

Insurance Medical Exam vs. Independent Medical Exam

The defendant is most often represented by an insurance company.  The insurance company responsible for making payments for the injuries is allowed to require the victim to submit to a medical examination by a doctor of the insurance company’s choosing to confirm the extent and existence of the injuries.  Most insurance companies have doctors they use regularly for this purpose and while the doctors are required to uphold their oaths as doctors, they will be particularly thorough in their examinations because the more money they save the insurance companies, the more business the insurance companies will sent them.  Insurance companies call these exams “Independent Medical Examinations” or I.M.E., while plaintiff attorneys call them “Adverse Medical Examinations”. 

Each perspective reflects how each side hopes a jury will look at the evidence coming from the exam.  The Defendant wants the jury to think the medical exam was performed by an impartial doctor, while the Plaintiff wants the jury to realize that the doctor was acting on the request of the Defendant.  A person with legitimate injuries has nothing to fear though because a doctor will certainly confirm the injuries if they exist.  You should always be cooperative and honest in an Independent Medical Exams.  The doctor will respect your honesty and your willingness to participate in the process. The doctor who performs the I.M.E. will also look at the Plaintiff’s medical records and medical history and will write a report summarizing his opinion about the Plaintiff’s medical condition and the possible causes of the condition.

Have Your Own Doctor Conduct an Examination

It is best for a Plaintiff to have a medical examination and medical report from his own doctor in the event that the doctor hired by the insurance company does not correctly report the injuries.  Having your own expert is important to show that there is more than one opinion on your injuries.  Juries often have to weigh testimony from different experts and they must determine who is most credible. If you don’t have your own expert, the jury has only one opinion to hear and that is the expert hired by the insurance company.

Insurance Companies and Independent Medical Exams

Larger insurance companies spend a great deal of money on medical examinations and doctors who are hired by the companies can make a decent living performing them.  Juries are not comfortable with doctors though who appear to be hired guns of the insurance company.  A good personal injury attorney will know who the “regulars” are in the medical examination industry in your area and will let the jury know how many I.M.E.’s a doctor performs for insurance companies each year.  This kind of evidence is intended to make the jury question the doctor’s testimony. 

Help from a Personal Injury Attorney

Insurance companies would go out of business quickly if they paid every claim to its fullest amount.  They hire attorneys to work on staff for them and their sole responsibility is to defend cases against personal injury claims.  An experienced attorney will know how to handle the I.M.E., how to advise you in attending the I.M.E., and how to present the best evidence in your favor.  Discuss your case with a personal injury attorney to learn exactly what steps you will have to go through and how much personal medical history you will have to disclose in order to succeed in your personal injury lawsuit.