Independent Medical Examination New York: What to Expect at the Defense Doctor’s Office

Sooner or later the defense will send you to a doctor. The notice calls it an independent medical examination, and that name is misleading in every respect. An independent medical examination New York defendants schedule is arranged by the insurer, paid for by the insurer and reported to the insurer. Knowing what the appointment actually is protects your case.

Why the Defense Gets to Examine You at All

Filing a personal injury lawsuit puts your physical condition in issue. Under 22 NYCRR 202.17, defendants may require a physical examination once you have claimed injuries. Because you placed your own health before the court, the rule is fair in principle. Today insurers order these examinations even in sidewalk trip and fall lawsuits in NYC.

Timing follows the discovery schedule. Defendants must serve notice first. Examinations usually follow depositions and the exchange of medical records. Therefore the doctor will already have read your records before you walk in.

What Actually Happens at an Independent Medical Examination New York Style

These examinations may be short. An hour is common even in cases involving surgery and years of treatment. Doctors who perform this work often see many people in a single day.

Expect a brief history, a physical examination and range of motion measurements. Examiners often use a goniometer to measure joint movement. Additionally, orthopedic examinations include provocative maneuvers designed to test whether reported pain is consistent.

Meanwhile, the report runs far longer than the visit. Reports typically recite the records at length. Then they conclude that you recovered, that your condition is degenerative or that your complaints exceed the objective findings. Because that conclusion drives settlement value, the examination deserves preparation. Since surgical cases draw the closest scrutiny, our post on construction accident spinal cord injuries is worth reading.

What You Must Answer and What You Need Not

First, describe your injuries, your symptoms and your treatment honestly. Explain what hurts, when it hurts and what you can no longer do. Notably, accuracy matters more than emphasis, and exaggeration destroys credibility permanently.

Still, this appointment is not a deposition. Questions about how the accident happened, about fault or about conversations with your attorney fall outside a medical examination. Instead, politely decline and say your lawyer can address them.

Notably, do not perform beyond your genuine limits. Some people push through pain out of pride, and the report then records full range of motion. Conversely, do not resist an examination you can tolerate, because the report will call your effort submaximal.

Your Right to Bring Someone With You

New York permits a plaintiff to be accompanied. Courts have recognized the right to have a representative present at a defense examination absent a showing of good cause to exclude one. Many firms send a paralegal or a nurse observer for exactly that reason.

Recording on video is a separate question, and it is not automatic. Where the parties disagree, an application to the court resolves it. For example, some judges permit recording where a plaintiff has cognitive impairment or a language barrier.

Furthermore, keep your own notes. During the visit, write down the arrival time, the start time and the end time. Record which tests were performed and how long the physical portion actually lasted. Since reports frequently describe examinations more thorough than the one you experienced, that timeline becomes cross examination material.

Bring the right materials as well. Carry photo identification, the notice of examination and a list of your treating providers. Rather than guessing at dates, write down your surgeries and hospitalizations in advance.

Arrive on time and expect to wait. An independent medical examination New York insurers arrange often runs behind schedule. Waiting an hour for a fifteen minute visit is entirely ordinary.

How Defense Reports Get Challenged in New York Cases

Surveillance often accompanies these examinations. Investigators film plaintiffs entering and leaving the building. Assume a camera watches you from the parking lot onward. Therefore behave exactly as you would on any other day.

Afterward the report itself becomes a target. Some examiners see thousands of plaintiffs annually and almost never find a permanent injury. Cross examination then covers volume, income from defense work and the share of examinations done for insurers. Meanwhile, the brevity of the visit contrasts sharply with the length of the report. Especially in TBI lawsuits in New York, the examiner rarely finds a permanent injury.

Fortunately, your treating physicians remain your strongest witnesses. They saw you over months rather than minutes. As a result, a well documented treatment record usually outweighs a single adverse opinion. Meanwhile our New York traumatic brain injury lawyers prepare clients for these examinations.

One further point deserves attention. Nothing said at the appointment is confidential. No physician patient relationship forms here, so the usual privilege does not apply. In other words, treat every remark as something the insurer will read.

Social media carries the same risk. Defense counsel routinely searches public posts before and after the examination. A single vacation photograph can be offered to contradict months of honest testimony. Instead of deleting old posts, which creates its own problem, simply stop posting while the case is pending.

Finally, ask your lawyer for a copy of the report when it arrives. Reading it closely often reveals errors of fact. For instance, examiners sometimes record the wrong accident date or attribute an old surgery to the wrong side of the body. Such mistakes undermine the entire opinion.

Prepare With The Law Firm of Andrew M. Stengel, P.C. Before You Go

Today nobody should attend one of these appointments without knowing the rules first. The Law Firm of Andrew M. Stengel, P.C. prepares clients for defense examinations throughout New York and sends an observer where appropriate. Defense examinations arise across our civil practice areas. Contact us today. Email info@stengellaw.com or schedule at https://calendly.com/stengellaw.