After Injury Individuals Find That Independent Medical Exams Are Not Really Independent
Whether you have been injured in a car accident or at work, if you have made a claim for benefits (whether or not your claim has resulted in suit being filed) you might be subject to an Independent Medical Exam (IME). An IME is designed by insurance companies and employers to reexamine an injured person to see if the doctor performing the IME agrees with the diagnosis and recommended treatment which was given by the injured individual's doctor. However, as discussed below, many problems arise from these IMEs.
The title of Independent Medical Exam can be very misleading as they are not really independent. As a New York Times article explains, their review of case files, medical records and patient interviews in New York worker compensation claims indicated that exam reports that results from these Independent Medical Exams are routinely bias towards and benefit insurers and employers over the injured individual by minimizing or dismissing altogether the injuries sustained.
The main reason for this bias is that employers and insurance companies are the companies that pay for these IMEs and therefore, if a physician starts producing reports that do not benefit the company's position on the injuries, that physician will likely not receive further IMEs from that company.
Many injured individuals have been able to contest the findings of these IMEs and prevailed, however resolution can take many months or years and many people simply give up. A personal injury attorney can assist an injured individual not only after a biased IME has been given, but before any IME has been conducted.
If you have been injured in an automobile/trucking accident or at work and your employer or an insurance company is requiring an IME for your claim, conduct the the personal injury attorneys are Miller & Falkner to help protect your rights against unfair IMEs.
The title of Independent Medical Exam can be very misleading as they are not really independent. As a New York Times article explains, their review of case files, medical records and patient interviews in New York worker compensation claims indicated that exam reports that results from these Independent Medical Exams are routinely bias towards and benefit insurers and employers over the injured individual by minimizing or dismissing altogether the injuries sustained. The main reason for this bias is that employers and insurance companies are the companies that pay for these IMEs and therefore, if a physician starts producing reports that do not benefit the company's position on the injuries, that physician will likely not receive further IMEs from that company.
Many injured individuals have been able to contest the findings of these IMEs and prevailed, however resolution can take many months or years and many people simply give up. A personal injury attorney can assist an injured individual not only after a biased IME has been given, but before any IME has been conducted.
If you have been injured in an automobile/trucking accident or at work and your employer or an insurance company is requiring an IME for your claim, conduct the the personal injury attorneys are Miller & Falkner to help protect your rights against unfair IMEs.
