Whenever someone experiences an injury due to medical negligence, they might have viable grounds to pursue financial compensation in a malpractice lawsuit against the negligent healthcare provider. However, the medical provider might dispute the severity of the patient’s injuries or deny that the patient’s injuries occurred from their actions. In many malpractice cases, injured patients need to undergo an additional medical evaluation from a new doctor that the patient does not have a relationship with. Although submitting to an additional medical examination can be scary, it is often a necessary hurdle that patients must complete.
Our skilled lawyers from Kaire & Heffernan, PLLC understand the impact of independent medical exam in a Miami medical malpractice case and could work with you to help you through the exam and guide you through your legal claim.
After a patient experiences harm due to a perceived medical mistake, they should immediately seek an evaluation from a physician who is separate from the medical provider who committed the alleged malpractice. The patient’s new doctor could assess and treat their injuries. The patient’s attorneys could later use that doctor’s report as proof of causation and liability by linking the medical mistake to the patient’s injuries. That medical report could classify the full extent of the patient’s injuries by labeling the injuries and describing their impact on the patient’s health.
However, a defendant healthcare provider or their insurance company might dispute the doctor’s findings because they do not believe the patient’s injuries are that severe or they do not believe the patient’s injuries occurred from the alleged medical mistake. The defendant or their insurer might request that the patient undergo an independent medical examination (IME) for a Miami malpractice case. A trusted local lawyer could help the patient through the IME process.
An insurance company that is representing a healthcare provider in a Miami malpractice claim can request that the patient undergo an IME. The doctor who performs the IME is supposed to be an independent third party, instead of the patient’s own doctor. The intended purpose of the IME is to gain an unbiased perspective on the patient’s injuries so that both sides can truly understand the patient’s injuries. An IME is a tool that defendants frequently use during the discovery process in medical malpractice litigation. When a patient visits a doctor for an IME, they should not expect to receive any treatment from the doctor because the doctor is only performing an examination to make an assessment.
Although the independent medical examiner is supposed to be objective, insurance companies often work with the same doctors repeatedly. Consequently, the IME doctor’s goal might not be to find injuries, but instead, they might be looking to disprove those injuries. The IME doctor would typically be looking for signs that the patient is exaggerating their symptoms or evidence that the patient’s injuries occurred from something other than the alleged medical malpractice incident.
To protect a patient’s rights, they should consult with a knowledgeable and experienced attorney before undergoing an IME so they can better understand what to say and how to act during the examination.
IMEs are important, and patients need to understand their potential effect on a legal case. The defense could later call the doctor who performed the IME to testify in court as a witness. The doctor who performed the independent medical examination could dispute the patient’s side of the story. If a doctor who performed the exam is able to convince a jury not to believe the patient, the impact of an independent medical exam in a Miami medical malpractice case could potentially change the outcome.
Discuss your malpractice claim with a well-versed local attorney who would work tirelessly to protect your legal rights.
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