What are Independent Medical Exams? Are They Truly Independent?

So you've been asked to go to a doctor that's been hired by the other side, the insurance company, and they are calling it an independent medical exam, an “IME.” Don't fall for that…because there's nothing independent about that medical exam. The doctor has been hired by the lawyer and the insurance company to defend the case that you've brought against them. There's nothing independent about it. The doctor knows that when they perform that exam, they may have to show up in court and testify to a jury as to what your physical conditions were at the time of the exam. And the purpose of that exam is for them to give a medical opinion about causation or the injuries that you claim. Were they caused by the injury producing event or the condition that you currently have and the residual problems that you currently have.
Are they from the underlying injury that you suffered in the injury producing event or are they from natural aging? It's called degeneration. So knowing that there's nothing independent about it I caution you to only answer questions because that what I call a DME, not an IME. A DME is a Defense Medical Exam.
The defense medical exam, when you go to that, remember that doctor who is examining you already has all of your medical records and they are not permitted to ask you about how the event happened other than if it's related to how your injury happened. So they can ask if, for example, you've been in a car crash, they can ask where did the impact come from? Was it from the rear, from the side, from the front, so that they know and can and can project how your body moved as a result in what parts of your body may have been injured.
If you fell, they can ask, where did you fall? Wanting to know was it on a sidewalk? Was it hard? Was it grass? What is it that you landed on? But what they can't really start examining you about or questioning you about is, “well, where were you looking?” Why didn't you see what caused you to fall or how fast were you going leading up to the crash?

It is not a second bite at the Apple for the defense to perform a, a deposition of you. It's a medical examination. It's not a deposition or examination before trial. So when you go to the defense medical exam you do have to answer some basic questions about your physical condition. At the time of the event.

You do have a right to have a second person in the room with you. You can request that a nurse or another medical provider be in that room. You need not be in isolation with this independent medical doctor or defense medical exam.

Your lawyer may choose to send a representative with you that is always the lawyers prerogative. And they have an absolute right to send a representative to observe and participate not physically in the exam, but just sit back and observe. And the lawyers representative cannot inject any information into the exam. The sole purpose is really to make observations and take notes. And what that representative does, it generally holds the doctor accountable.

I've seen exams where a Doctor may write an eight page medical report of which four pages suggest that he provide performed a full and complete medical exam. And then I've asked my client and said the medical exam was 30 seconds long and all that doctor did. But at the end of the day, most insurance companies realize a skilled trial lawyer can pierce right through that medical exam with a very effective cross-examination. I'm going to give you a little insight as to the number one question that jurors find distasteful on cross examination when deposing a defense medical exam. It's simply this.

Q: "You performed this full examination of my client, right?"
A: "Yes, I did."
Q: "And in performing that full medical examination, you knew you may come here one day and have to tell this jury what your opinion is related to my client's claimed injuries."
A: "Yes, I did."
Q: "And in doing so it, you knew it's very important to do a full and complete examination."
A: "Yes."
Q: "And you knew it's important for you to be able to tell your opinion to this jury that you've reviewed all of the medical records, right?"

A skilled, a lawyer who's been there before, can tear apart a defense medical exam. We know the observer is going to confirm the 30 second exam. What you need to do is be truthful and honest when you go to that exam and let the lawyer take care of the rest.