What is a Defense Medical Exam
Chances are that if you are a plaintiff in a personal injury lawsuit, the insurance company will make you submit to a defense medical exam. The purpose of a defense medical exam is for the opposing side to get a doctor to go against you. They want the doctor in the defense medical exam to say that you are not injured, you are exaggerating your injury, your injury was pre-existing and not caused by the accident, are healed and no longer need treatment, or anything else that will look bad for your case. An alternate name for a defense medical exam is an independent medical exam. A lot of lawyers don’t feel the term independent medical exam is appropriate, because the doctors that perform these exams are not really independent. They are paid by the defendants’ insurance company to go against the plaintiff. Some of these doctors are even on a salary provided by the insurance company. These doctors are far from independent. They are biased against the plaintiff and towards the insurance company.
Guide for the Defense Medical Exam
– Bring somebody with you to the exam. This person could be your lawyer, a nurse, or even a friend. Have them take notes of the exam or preferably make an audio recording of the exam. In California video taping is not allowed. Taking notes or making an audio tape helps to protect you. If the exam is on audio tape, the doctor will have a hard time omitting relevant facts to the case.
Note: A service called Prime, will send a medical doctor to witness and record your exam. This service costs money, but can be well worth the protection that it provides. Read more about their services at their web site at www.primecorp.net/frame.html.
– Be polite at all times.
– Be aware of what you are doing from the time you arrive in the parking lot until the time you get in your car and leave. Defense medical doctors are looking for any reason to discredit you. If they see that you stand up to get out of your car quickly, they will attempt to show that you are not in pain. Even if you grimaced in pain when you got out of your car, they will most likely fail to notice that. Some defense medical exam doctors actually try to set you up. For example, they may abruptly drop something in an attempt to get you to quickly turn your head.
– Don’t sign anything except the sign in sheet.
– Don’t answer questions about the case such as fault.
– Don’t answer questions not relevant to the case, including medical problems that are not relevant.
– Be truthful. If you had a relevant previous injury, tell them. The insurance company is very good at finding out about past injuries.
– Give a full history of your complaints, symptoms, injuries and medical care.
– If the doctor does anything that causes you pain, let them know. This is not the time to be brave and hide your pain.
– Don’t submit to invasive or painful tests. Don’t submit to tests that you have already submitted to with your doctor. You do not have to endure painful procedures, nor do you have to repeat procedures that you have already done.
Defense medical exams are an often unavoidable evil personal injury cases. These doctors don’t care about your best interest and are only looking to discredit you. With the tips from this guide, you can minimize the damage potential these exams can cause to your case.
** This is not intended to replace legal advice. In addition, laws frequently change. The author has done their best to try and provide accurate and current information. It is the readers responsibility to do their own research and verify any information found in this article. The author and / or Associated Content are not responsible or liable for the accuracy of the contents of this article.**
Sources
www.harp.org/ime.htm
www.911law.com/defense_medical_exam.html
