What Is An Independent Medical Exam ?
The testimony of the doctor who did the independent medical examination, is of prime importance in workplace injury litigations where the petitioner claims to suffer from some kind of work related injury or disability. Depending on the IME report of the petitioner’s health status, the employer (or insurance carrier) can even refuse compensation to the employee.
Worker’s compensation is a type of insurance provided by employers in most industrial societies to ensure the welfare of their employees. It ensures that a worker can claim either financial support or medical care (the exact type of compensation depends on the workplace and work conditions) from the employer whenever he or she incurs a work related health problem or disability. In any circumstance whereby the employer refuses to provide this care, the worker has the right to sue the management for the tort of negligence. Hence, compensation is always provided on the employee’s assurance that he or she will not have recourse to any (legal) measures outside the compensation system. This tradeoff is popularly known as “the compensation bargain.”
Since an IME is usually requested by the defense, there is widespread suspicion regarding the examination. Most people believe it just a charade conducted in order to make the side of the defense stronger, so that the insurance carrier or employer can refuse compensation to the worker. Hence, IME is popularly known as “Defense Medical Examination” or “Adverse Medical Examination.” What they forget is that an IME necessarily reports the current status of a person’s health, and this data can determine not only the cause but also the extent of the health problem and can probably predict the best treatment for it. Moreover, a post-treatment IME can provide an exact picture of how an individual responds to a medical treatment, and whether he or she derived maximum benefit from it. Therefore, although an IME report is not the same as a “second opinion,” it has benefits both for the employer and the employee.
In an IME, the doctor first interviews the patient to learn more about the injury. He or she will observe the general appearance of the patient and will be specifically looking for any external manifestations of the injury (wounds, burns, broken bones and the like). Any signs of emotional distress or mental depression are also noted by the IME doctor. All medical reports related to the injury and general health condition, X-rays, MRI scans, CT scans, etc., will be checked. If a patient is treated by more than one specialist for a health issue, more than one IME may be required. For example, if the plaintiff is undergoing treatment by both an orthopedic surgeon and a neurologist, separate IMEs have to be conducted by specialists from both medical fields. In some cases, separate IMEs may result in the employer providing compensation for a part of the medical treatment.
No system is flawless, and there may be medical practitioners who misuse their responsibility as IME doctors. But thankfully, there are many medical evaluation companies that provide a network of committed doctors who can give trustworthy reports on your health status.
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