Independent Medical Examination

Under worker’s compensation law, the insurance carrier or employer can request that a claimant go to the non-treating doctor of their choice for an independent medical examination.  The insurance company must pay for this examination, and the request to go to such an examination should be in writing.  Claimants have the right to have their own physician present at the exam.  In addition, the claimant is entitled to receive from the independent medical examiner a copy of any report that is rendered at the same time that it is given to the employer, insurance company or the Division of Worker’s Compensation.  (Section 8-43-404 (2), C.R.S.).  If a claimant is dissatisfied about a decision of maximum medical improvement and medical impairment given by the authorized treating physician, the claimant can ask the insurance carrier to select an independent medical examiner to give a second opinion.  If the claimant cannot agree with the insurance carrier about who the independent medical examiner shall be, they can ask the Division of Workers’ Compensation to appoint an independent medical examiner.  The medical examiner is paid for by the person requesting the examination (current charge:  $675.00) and his/her decision, while not necessarily final, may be very difficult to prove wrong.  This is true because the physician’s opinion can only be overcome by “clear and convincing evidence”, which is a more difficult burden of proof than the usual standard of “preponderance of the evidence”. (Section 8-42-107(8) (b), (c), C.R.S.).