Compulsory Medical Examination

What is a Compulsory Medical Examination?

Compulsory medical examinations are an extreme option that should be avoided if, at all possible, they are occasionally required in order to resolve an injury claim. It is important to be aware of this fact. This is especially the case whenever a worker sustains an injury on the job because of the state’s regulations regarding claims for workers’ compensation.

How Do You Complete a Compulsory Medical Exam?

A licensed doctor, not an insurance adjuster or someone else untrained in medicine, always administers any required medical exams. Depending on the terms of the agreement requiring you to have a medical examination, the insurer may require you to see a specific doctor, provide you with a list of doctors from which to choose, or leave the decision up to you and the opposing party.

The goal should be to consult a physician who is not employed by the insurance company but rather is seen as independent, objective, and unbiased. However, in practice, insurance companies often endeavor to have their preferred doctors see their patients.

You ought to be prepared for the fact that the doctor has one objective in mind, and that objective is to reduce or refute your insurance claim.

This indicates that you should prepare in advance with the assistance of your attorney and conduct yourself in a manner that is comparable to how you would behave if you were being questioned by hostile counsel.

Should I Agree to a Compulsory Medical Exam?

You should not agree to a compulsory medical examination if you can help it. It is all too common for an insurance company to try and deny a claim by using compulsory medical exams.

If it is possible to negotiate a resolution without taking this exam, doing so is frequently the best way to move forward; nonetheless, you should consult your attorney before taking this step.

If you do decide to participate in the examination, there are at least five ways in which it can be used to your disadvantage:

It is possible that the doctor will determine that you are not actually hurt or at least that one of your injuries is not genuine.
It is possible that the doctor will determine that the damage is not as serious as you have described it to be.
It is possible that the doctor will acknowledge that the injury is legitimate but will assert that it was brought on by a different event, not the accident or injury that is the subject of your insurance claim. They can say, for instance, that the injury had occurred before the accident took place.
The physician may assert that they have found proof that you made the injury worse by not receiving the appropriate care or that the damage was rendered worse due to a pre-existing condition that you already had. This implies that, at the least, you are partially to blame for your own injury.
It’s possible that the doctor will simply disagree with important aspects of the diagnosis that was given by your primary physician, which will cast doubt on the medical evidence that you’re utilizing in your case.

It only takes one of them to utterly derail your personal injury claim and put you in danger of having it rejected. The odds are not in the patient’s favor, especially when one considers that the physician is typically partial toward the insurer.

What Steps Should I Take In the Event That I Am Required to Undergo a Compulsory Medical Examination?

There are three essential steps that need to be completed:

Talk to your attorney about whether or not there are any other options. It is possible that you will be able to negotiate a claim without having to submit to this kind of exam if the terms of your policy do not require you to do so. You may rely on a personal injury attorney for assistance, as they are qualified to handle your case.
Make preparations with your attorney well in advance. They should be able to coach you on how to respond to doctor’s inquiries, how to say no to things that you aren’t required to do, and how to ask the doctor clarifying questions.
Make an appointment to see your primary care physician the very same day. You don’t want the doctor who works for the insurance company to be the only authority on record, and you also don’t want there to be any space for dispute because your own checkup was weeks or months later. If you do not already have a doctor who understands this process and is truly independent of your insurer, you should work with your attorney to find one as soon as possible.

Contact an Attorney for Legal Help

Before making any decisions regarding your case, you will first need to contact a personal injury lawyer for legal advice.

You will want an attorney on your side to make sure you are doing the right things and not putting your case in jeopardy.

Your lawyer will make sure you follow the appropriate steps so that you can obtain maximum compensation for your losses.

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