The Legal Fiction of the Independent Medical Exam
After being seriously injured a plaintiff goes to a physician for treatment. An injured person’s choice of physician is limited by options in an insurance plan. Geography matters too, if you are in a serious amount of pain you don’t want to sit in a car for a long ride to a doctor. As a practical matter, people often go to doctors they have a prior relationship with. The physician may not look sophisticated, may not be the best oral communicator and may not keep the best records. But, at least the physician’s heart is in the right place. The physician is working hard to diagnose and treat the injuries.
There’s nothing independent about these exams or the examiners.
That’s a lot more than can be said about most physicians who perform defense medical exams (“DME”). Often a corporate lawyer tries to call a DME an Independent Medical Exam (“IME”) in court. Don’t be confused. There’s nothing independent about these exams or the examiners.
The DME is paid by either the insurance company adjustor or the insurance defense law firm for the single purpose of torpedoing the plaintiff’s case. Much like a Hollywood casting call, these very partial examiners are initially chosen because they do look sophisticated, they do speak well and they will always find a story to tell that supports the corporation paying their bill.
However, the question arises whether a DME has to keep providing a “quality product” for the defense to keep new cases coming.
Do you think an insurance adjustor or lawyer will keep hiring a DME who writes reports that favor the injured person over the insurance company?