It is common when and if you become disabled for insurance carriers to compel you to submit to an Independent Medical Examination (IME). Although the language suggests this examination is objective (using the word, “independent”), nothing could be further from the truth. Actually, one might call this an Insurance Medical Examination since the examiner likely is working for the insurance carrier.
The medical examination is conducted on behalf of the insurance carrier, and the insurance carrier has little to no motivation to find you disabled. On the contrary, it benefits the insurance carrier when they deny you disability benefits; that is money saved and more money for their share holders.
For a little perspective, consider that most medical professionals who perform IME’s work for insurance carriers on a steady basis, either directly or through “consulting firms” who cater to insurance carriers. It stands to reason that an “employee” or contractor who has a business arrangement with an insurance carrier would have a vested interest in finding disabled or injured claimants to be healthy and capable of working. If these examiners were to find claimants “disabled” frequently, it would lead to less repeated business from the insurance carriers.
What Happens During An IME?
This process usually begins with a review of your records before you have even met the IME doctor. The insurance carrier first combs through your medical records usually cherry-picking specific records to give the IME doctor. Too often, these records are taken out of context, and the IME doctor looks for accidental omissions which then can be presented as evidence that you really are not that disabled.
Then, typically, the insurance carrier gives the IME doctor a list of questions to answer, so he or she knows, in advance, the direction of the inquiry. And when the IME actually takes place, it generally is a brief, superficial examination, lasting no more than a few minutes. It is this type of examination that the insurance carrier will base its decision on, in deep contrast with the type of examination you receive when you are examined by your own treating physicians.
Other Problems With The IME
This one-sided process is further aggravated by the fact that some IME doctors may have their own biases, especially against conditions which cannot always be detected on diagnostics such as fibromyalgia, for example. Unlike your own doctor who treats and examines you over a long span of time and knows your symptoms, an IME doctor simply reads a record and conducts a brief examination – that does not provide the whole picture. The most an IME doctor can do is comment on that one brief examination, and usually finds in favor of the insurance carrier.
While you cannot refuse to go to an IME, you can be prepared. It is allowable for you to retain a registered nurse to accompany you to the exam. At The DeHaan Law Firm we often make arrangements for a nurse to be in the room with you because that tends to relax our clients, and sends an important message to the IME doctor that your attorney is paying attention.