If you've been seriously injured and had to file a lawsuit, you may be confronted with an "independent medical examination." The Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure, Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, and Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide for examination of a plaintiff by a medical doctor, psychiatrist, or other "examiner." Workers' compensation cases have an equivalent process called the "employer medical examination."
While an IME may be termed "independent," this is far from the case. Insurance companies pick and choose doctors who routinely work with them to obtain results that benefit only the insurance companies. Many of these IME/EME doctors are paid top dollar to provide biased opinions that contest a person's injuries, causation, and necessity of prior medical treatment. The only way these doctors get more assignments from insurance companies is by beating up the cases of injured people who are sent to them for "independent" analysis.
If you get injured in a car accident or on the job, it's important to get an attorney who understands that IMEs and EMEs can have a serious impact on your case. That attorney must be able to build your case to prevent unscrupulous insurance companies from diminishing serious injuries.
When serious injuries happen, get serious and get Gulf South Law. Call Attorney Heath Sullivan for help with your case.