2.8 million nonfatal injuries<\/a> at workplaces in 2017 alone, many have had to go through this process. One of the key elements to getting you back on your feet and into work is the workers’ comp doctor evaluation.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTo better understand what this evaluation entails, and why it is important, read on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Workers’ Comp Doctor Evaluation: The Whys<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The principal reason that an examination is needed is to get you started on the pathway to recovery. Even that has two parts, the first is determining the course of treatment. The second is understanding the extent of the injury for legal purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Organizations need information from an independent medical exam (IME) to determine fault and courses of action. Insurance companies want to know what happened and have multiple opinions on lines of treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An examination by your regular physician won’t count for these legal claims. The intention of an IME is to corroborate your usual doctor and also to look for specialized information. Most IME doctors have additional training that looks beyond the injury to the causes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The company you work for and oversight groups like OSHA want more information to shape policy. They need to know how and what to change in the workplace to protect other workers from injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, your regular doctor doesn’t necessarily want to deal with all of this paperwork and interaction. Having a specialized doctor evaluation makes this process go faster and bog down your treating physician less. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And Hows<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Now that you understand more about why an independent evaluation is helpful, let’s go over the process of an IME.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Doctor Choice<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Not just any doctor can be used for this purpose. Insurance companies have lists of preapproved workman’s comp doctors. These doctors have been vetted by the insurance company for their knowledge of workplace injuries and claims processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The upside of these doctors is the speed of the evaluation and lack of pushback you get from the insurance company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The downside is the potential for these preapproved doctors to be watching out for the insurance company’s bottom line over your health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We’ll cover more about that later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each state has different rules on how independent doctors are selected and who counts for these choices. You may find that you have a choice of multiple or may be given a single choice, depending on the size of your are and the networks there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Getting a doctor selected should be a second-tier decision for you. YOur regular physician should be in charge of treatment and recovery, especially if you required emergency treatment to avoid loss of life and limb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Securing a workers’ comp attorney early also helps. They know the selection process and can advocate for you in getting an IME.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tools and Lists<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
If you are looking for a doctor to perform an IME or specifically looking for a disability specialist, consider using a listing service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These services compile information about doctors by area and specialty. They can help you find the right workers comp doctor for you by doing a lot of the research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When time is an important factor, it’s best to use tools to save time. You can always use referrals from your treating physician as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Examination<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The first step in getting your IME doesn’t involve you at all. Medical records requests from the chosen (or selected) IME doctor are evaluated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Depending on which organizations are involved at this stage, and how contentious the issues are, specific questions may be posed for the IME.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The purpose of this examination often excludes you and your treatment. The bulk of the reason for the IME is about creating legal boilerplate for determining fault and awarding compensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where your health comes into play is in determining if you need more treatment, in the form of rehabilitation, or if you have a permanent disability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Typical questions include<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Is the diagnosis correct? <\/li>
- Was the work or workplace responsible for the injury?<\/li>
- Is the injury permanent and how limiting is it?<\/li>
- When can you return to work? Limited duty or full?<\/li>
- Do you need more treatment? If so, what are the best options?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Keep in mind, the answers to these questions and the results of any examinations fall outside of typical doctor-patient protections. These examinations are specifically meant to be used as evidence for determining courses of action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Avoid saying anything broad or questionable during these examinations. Anything you say or do can be used against you to reject a claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is one of the most pressing reasons to contact an attorney and get representation before submitting to an IME.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Challenging Results<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
After the IME, you may still challenge the results. With all of the different parties interested in the legal matters of an injury, the person int middle is often neglected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This shouldn’t be taken personally. Once the government, oversight agencies, companies, and lawyers get involved (as they must) the numbers become more important than the individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fortunately, if you have taken the appropriate steps in getting your IME from the right lists and with the right help, you will be in a better position to challenge decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All of this may not help you in the short-term, but advocating for the system helps settle the legal matters and make future cases similar to yours go faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Be Careful<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It’s a shame that injuries happen and that the aftermath is as challenging and horrific as the injury itself. The process of a workers’ comp doctor evaluation can be tedious and feel adversarial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Work with people that can advocate for you and the process goes faster and puts less pressure on you during your recovery. Use the tools at your disposal to reach for a speedy, and full, recovery so you can get back to your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Humans, as pattern-seeking beings, tend to believe in groups over individual incidents. Bad things often come in threes. Getting injured in the workplace certainly follows this trend. First, the injury itself causes pain and a lack of ability. Second, the process of getting back to fitness is long and slow. Third, dealing with mounting medical […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4511"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4511"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4666,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4511\/revisions\/4666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}