IME in PA

[heynow]

Hello, I was just notified that I need to appear for the exam at the end of the month. What can I expect? Thanks.

[1171]

a medical exam similar to others you've had.

[Timothy Belt]

I assume this is a defense medical exam with a doctor chosen by the insurance company. If you have a lawyer, talk to them about any suggestions or recommendations they may have. I have a laundry list of dos and don'ts that I send to my client which I am going to paste below. These exams tend to be quick and less then complete, and the reports tend to be unfavorable. If you do not have a lawyer, you may want to obtain a consultation now since the report from this type of exam is often used to challenge entitlement to benefits.

"The Workers’ Compensation Act provides that your employer and/or its insurer are entitled to have you examined at reasonable intervals by a doctor of their choosing. You are normally required to attend such examinations and failure to do so may adversely affect your continued receipt of benefits. Please call my office if there is a conflict and you cannot attend the examination on the scheduled date.

Please read and follow these instructions carefully.

1. Please schedule an appointment with your treating physician within a week or two before and/or after this defense exam so that we will have a contemporaneous examination by your treating physician for comparison;

2. Please bring all medical records or diagnostic studies you posses with you to your examination. You are not required to undertake the time, effort, and expense of obtaining additional diagnostic films or any other medical records from your various providers beyond what you already possess;

3. Please answer the doctor and/or the doctor’s staff’s questions about your injury, past medical history, prior injuries, etc. honestly and completely. You should, however, refuse to provide answers to questions pertaining to the legal status of your case such as any pending proceedings or settlement discussions;

4. You are not to fill out any pain questionnaires or pain drawings;

5. Listen very carefully to what the doctor or the doctor’s staff ask you and do not guess at anything. If you do not know the answer, say so;

6. Be completely truthful with the doctor and the doctor’s staff in regard to your medical history and your symptoms during the examination. The doctor may use certain distraction tests which are not intended to cause pain. Since you will not know which tests these are, it is critically important that you report your symptoms (if any) honestly and without exaggeration. Furthermore, in answering questions, keep in mind the doctor will have already reviewed your medical records. Therefore, please be completely accurate in answering questions. Again, if you do not know the answer to the question asked, do not guess, simply tell the doctor that you do not recall;

7. Your Employer or the Insurance Company may send a representative such as a rehabilitation nurse to your examination. You should not speak to this individual;

8. Sometimes, the doctor or someone from the doctor’s staff will ask you to submit to diagnostic testing such as an X-ray, MRI, EMG or FCE. You are not to submit to any such testing. If this becomes an issue, please stop the exam and call my office immediately; and

9. Always remember that from the time you leave your home to the time that you return, you may be watched. The insurance company is fully aware that you will be attending this examination and may take this opportunity to place you under surveillance. Furthermore, always remember that from the time you exit your vehicle until the time you re-enter, you will be watched by the doctor or the doctor’s staff. You will be watched while in the waiting area, while walking to and from the exam room, and while getting onto and off of the examination table. The doctor and the doctor’s staff will be watching to see if your behavior outside the exam room is different than inside the exam room.

Once the physical exam has been completed, you are to leave. Since the doctor was retained by the insurance company to perform the exam, his report will be provided to the insurance company rather than to you. Please keep in mind this is not one of your treating doctors but rather a physician hired by the insurance company to provide them with an opinion that they may then use in litigation. For that reason, it is very important that you provide truthful and accurate information to the doctor since the doctor will be looking for inaccuracies to discredit you and challenge your ongoing disability.

Please keep a record of mileage incurred to attend this examination and provide same to me. I will then submit this cost to the carrier for reimbursement. If you require transportation to this examination, please advise as soon as possible."

[Timothy Belt]

I assume this is a defense medical exam with a doctor chosen by the insurance company. If you have a lawyer, talk to them about any suggestions or recommendations they may have. I have a laundry list of dos and don'ts that I send to my client which I am going to paste below. These exams tend to be quick and less then complete, and the reports tend to be unfavorable. If you do not have a lawyer, you may want to obtain a consultation now since the report from this type of exam is often used to challenge entitlement to benefits.

"The Workers’ Compensation Act provides that your employer and/or its insurer are entitled to have you examined at reasonable intervals by a doctor of their choosing. You are normally required to attend such examinations and failure to do so may adversely affect your continued receipt of benefits. Please call my office if there is a conflict and you cannot attend the examination on the scheduled date.

Please read and follow these instructions carefully.

1. Please schedule an appointment with your treating physician within a week or two before and/or after this defense exam so that we will have a contemporaneous examination by your treating physician for comparison;

2. Please bring all medical records or diagnostic studies you posses with you to your examination. You are not required to undertake the time, effort, and expense of obtaining additional diagnostic films or any other medical records from your various providers beyond what you already possess;

3. Please answer the doctor and/or the doctor’s staff’s questions about your injury, past medical history, prior injuries, etc. honestly and completely. You should, however, refuse to provide answers to questions pertaining to the legal status of your case such as any pending proceedings or settlement discussions;

4. You are not to fill out any pain questionnaires or pain drawings;

5. Listen very carefully to what the doctor or the doctor’s staff ask you and do not guess at anything. If you do not know the answer, say so;

6. Be completely truthful with the doctor and the doctor’s staff in regard to your medical history and your symptoms during the examination. The doctor may use certain distraction tests which are not intended to cause pain. Since you will not know which tests these are, it is critically important that you report your symptoms (if any) honestly and without exaggeration. Furthermore, in answering questions, keep in mind the doctor will have already reviewed your medical records. Therefore, please be completely accurate in answering questions. Again, if you do not know the answer to the question asked, do not guess, simply tell the doctor that you do not recall;

7. Your Employer or the Insurance Company may send a representative such as a rehabilitation nurse to your examination. You should not speak to this individual;

8. Sometimes, the doctor or someone from the doctor’s staff will ask you to submit to diagnostic testing such as an X-ray, MRI, EMG or FCE. You are not to submit to any such testing. If this becomes an issue, please stop the exam and call my office immediately; and

9. Always remember that from the time you leave your home to the time that you return, you may be watched. The insurance company is fully aware that you will be attending this examination and may take this opportunity to place you under surveillance. Furthermore, always remember that from the time you exit your vehicle until the time you re-enter, you will be watched by the doctor or the doctor’s staff. You will be watched while in the waiting area, while walking to and from the exam room, and while getting onto and off of the examination table. The doctor and the doctor’s staff will be watching to see if your behavior outside the exam room is different than inside the exam room.

Once the physical exam has been completed, you are to leave. Since the doctor was retained by the insurance company to perform the exam, his report will be provided to the insurance company rather than to you. Please keep in mind this is not one of your treating doctors but rather a physician hired by the insurance company to provide them with an opinion that they may then use in litigation. For that reason, it is very important that you provide truthful and accurate information to the doctor since the doctor will be looking for inaccuracies to discredit you and challenge your ongoing disability.

Please keep a record of mileage incurred to attend this examination and provide same to me. I will then submit this cost to the carrier for reimbursement. If you require transportation to this examination, please advise as soon as possible."

[heynow]

Thanks Tim,

I do have a lawyer but have yet to hear back from him. Would it be in my best interest to bring a witness or record this exam? This exam has been requested by the insurance company. I am under doctor care but we are at a point where I either need to have a second surgery to clean up documented issues or stay the way that I am. Also, is this a normal procedure in the workers comp process? Could I find myself in court in the near future? Thanks again.

[Timothy Belt]

This is a normal part of any workers' compensation claim and it does often lead to litigation. You can bring someone with you, but the doctor does not have to allow them to stay in the room during the examination. An exception would be if you bring your own medical provider with you, in which case they would be permitted to observe the exam but not to take part in the exam. You can ask the doctor to record the exam, but you can not record the exam without the doctor's consent.

[Timothy Belt]

This is a normal part of any workers' compensation claim and it does often lead to litigation. You can bring someone with you, but the doctor does not have to allow them to stay in the room during the examination. An exception would be if you bring your own medical provider with you, in which case they would be permitted to observe the exam but not to take part in the exam. You can ask the doctor to record the exam, but you can not record the exam without the doctor's consent.