Following every single auto accident injury lawsuit is submitted, an independent medical exam (IME) is nearly usually required by vehicle insurance businesses and personal injury defense law companies. IME medical professionals are employed to perform one particular time "examinations" from the hurt plaintiffs, compose reports and testify. These IME medical doctors make vast quantities of cash, testifying ninety nine percent with the time on behalf of the protection. They nearly always reduce the personal accidents or damages towards the plaintiff dependent upon one-time, 15-minute exams.
If these problems with bias aren't uncovered, then a jury could in fact mitigate the damages and compensation that your client deserves, especially when several IME doctors create normally awful reports ripping apart hurt clients and saying there is nothing at all incorrect with them.
Should you be a personal injury lawyer, there isn't really an entire great deal you are able to do about this both. IMEs really are a big element of how defendants and insurance businesses defend lawsuits. States without poor faith or punitive damages to protect auto accident victims are seeing these IME medical doctors supplying far more outlandish testimony than in many other states. The main insurance company protection approach is apparently to turn to IMEs now far more aggressively than in the past - so they can come across "nothing wrong" with critically injured accident victims.
You can find important lessons here for all personal injury lawyers. Very first, most IME medical professionals are routinely asked how frequently they testify and just how a lot they make. This information is essential to show bias. These physicians realize it, and rather of answering in truth, the standard reaction is surely an "I never know." This can be nearly always a lie, but almost never do personal injury attorneys aggressively stick to as many as get this details.
It really is approximately the personal injury attorney to have this info by issuing subpoenas for 1099s and other payments from the various car insurance companies and defense attorneys and legislation companies that employ these notorious IME medical professionals.
For instance, some years back, a notorious protection neurologist informed me below cross-examination that he had "no idea" just how much income he was making executing defense exams and IMEs for numerous insurance businesses. Right after our deposition, I issued subpoenas to your doctor. It turned out he was making $500,000 a yr, just performing these one-time exams on behalf of defendants in personal injury lawsuits.
When medical professionals refuse to adjust to obligatory federal court discovery and disclose how often they testify and for which side in the lawsuit, then we have a severe dilemma. It really is as many as personal injury attorneys to explain just how unfair these one-time, partisan insurance defense doctors might be in wrecking innocent people's one opportunity to a fair and just automobile accident lawsuit.
When dealing with IMEs in depositions and at trial, your greatest method is usually to check out the doctor's payments from insurance organizations and protection regulation corporations and be prepared with knowledge of how the defense will use these exams against your client.
If you are in Atlanta and looking for an IME doctor then check out IME doctor Atlanta.
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