Independent Medical Examinations
What’s Important To Know About No-Fault Independent Medical Examinations?
Check out this educational legal video by Daniel J. Chiacchia, an experienced car accident lawyer in Hamburg, NY to learn about independent medical examinations and how we protect your rights during them.
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Sometimes, during the litigation process, people are asked to go for a physical exam referred to as an “independent” medical examination. I find that term to be a misnomer because it’s basically an insurance examination or a defendant examination. There’s nothing independent about the people who perform these examinations. They know where their bread is being buttered, and they often approach these exams with a viewpoint that slants their findings toward what the insurance carriers would like to see.
These “medical exams” require our clients to go and be examined by either a no-fault doctor, workers’ compensation doctor, or a doctor who was hired by an insurance company in a regular lawsuit. These doctors examine our clients, review their records, and then render opinions as to whether or not they were injured in the accident, whether or not there’s any degree of permanency involved, and other such things. There’s nothing independent about them. Unfortunately, our clients do have to attend these exams.
Fairly often, especially when these exams are lawsuit-related, we send a representative – either someone from our office or from an independent agency – along with our client to monitor their exam. They make sure our clients are not being asked to complete paperwork they shouldn’t be completing. They also ensure that, when we see the final report submitted by the doctor, it coincides with what they actually observed during the exam. For example, if a doctor says, “I did this range of motion testing,” but did not, our observer can say, “No we didn’t, Dan. I was there.” Those are two important things of which we can be sure when we have somebody present with the client at the examination.
Were you involved in an auto accident and are being asked by the insurance company to have an independent medical exam performed? Contact the experienced Hamburg car accident lawyers at Chiacchia & Fleming, LLP for a free consultation. We treat your case and your injuries seriously and do everything in our power to bring you relief.