San Diego Accident Attorney Talks About the Role of the Independent Medical Examiner

Who is the independent medical examiner? What is an independent medical examination (IME)?

The answer is that he is the primary witness against most personal injury victims and the IME is a time for the witness to meet, interrogate, and examine the victim in person–giving him more credibility at trial. San Diego injury lawyer answers this question for you and tells of the role of the independent medical examiner in litigation in this important article.

What is the “Independent Medical Examiner” and what is his role in your California injury accident case? He is the MAIN witness against you!

In most personal injury cases, the primary witness and weapon against the injury accident victim is the independent medical examiner. The word “independent” is misleading. It simply means this person, who is a doctor, is independent of the treating doctors for the victim. However, this person is employed and paid for by the insurance company of the wrongdoer whose negligence and carelessness caused the accident in the first place.

The independent medical examiner often examines the injured person at an independent medical examination (IME). The IME seems like a normal, everyday doctor’s examination but it is really a cross between a deposition and a physical and mental interrogation in which the independent medical examiner documents the record and tries to obtain as many “facts” as possible so that they can conclude that the injury accident victim is either not injured or not as injured as they claim.

Insurance companies hire independent medical examiners over and over again because they know what this witness will say about certain cases and they know that these witnesses will play ball and support the insurance company’s position at trial. It is not because the witness is any better of a doctor than the treating doctor. It is simply that the insurance company is hiring a doctor who will provide a predictable opinion.

Never attend an IME without an attorney or a medical witness such as a registered nurse (RN) who can observe and testify against the independent medical examiner at trial if the examiner attempts to perform an improper medical examination.…