Blogs

Defense Medical Examiners - A World of Hurt

In Virginia, as in most other states, if a person has been injured and brings a claim against the careless person who injured her, the defense for the careless person usually asks that the injured person be examined by a doctor chosen by the defense.  This is also true in workers' compensation cases, where the employer will have the employee examined by a doctor chosen by the employer.  In both workes' compensation and injury cases, the DME (defense medical exam) is performed by a doctor who regularly does such examinations for the defense. 

Sometimes these examinations are referred to as IMEs, INDEPENDENT medical exams, but they are anything but independent.  Injured people are mistaken if they think that the doctor hired by the insurance company is there to help them.  The doctor is there to help whoever it is paying his or her bill.  And, they may do many such examinations in one day and make tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars every year on such examinations.

This New York Times article highlights doctors in New York; however, you can be sure that Virginia has doctors who are similar to those featured in the article.

Don't get me wrong.  If an injured person sues a careless person, the defendant has a right to have the injured plaintiff examined to verify the injuries.  My objection is the cozy relationship some doctors and defense lawyers have with each other, where the lawyers always send the injured people to the same doctors because they know that the doctor will say that the injured person is exaggerating.  It's not fair to paint every injured plaintiff as exaggerating.

if we ever learn that our clients are lying to us, or exaggerating their injuries, we refuse to take their case.  We do not believe it helps the justice system for anyone on either side of a case to scam the system, and we do not tolerate such behavior.

if you have been injured by someone else's carelessness, give Weiner, Rohrstaff & Spivey a call.  We can help you decide whether you have an injury that is severe enough to benefit from the assistance of an experienced personal injury lawyer.  Contact us by phone, 703-273-9500, by email at srohrstaff@wrsattorneys.com, or through our website www.wrsattorneys.com.