After being involved in an accident such as a motor vehicle accident or a slip and fall, you will likely have visited your family physician and maybe even been seen at a hospital or by a specialist. More often than not your initial visits will include a general assessment along with a follow up visit for x-rays, magnetic resonance imaging and so on. 

Once this has all been completed and perhaps you are attending a form of therapy, you may be notified by your legal representative or an insurance company that you have been asked to attend an independent medical examination. What is an independent examination, and should you be worried? While it is understandable that this request may cause some worry or concern, an independent medical examination is simply a requested examination by either party which is conducted by an unbiased medical professional. These tend to be completed by family physicians, psychologists and chiropractors, however specialists, physiotherapists and psychiatrists can also conduct these examinations.

To begin, a medical professional who has not previously seen the Plaintiff will be asked to conduct an examination. This examination will be in regards to a particular injury that the Plaintiff claims they have  suffered as a direct result of the subject accident. The examinations are used for both physical injuries as well as psychological impairments and if multiple injuries have occurred, one may be asked to attend more than one examination. 

As mentioned previously, any party involved in the legal proceedings can request the Plaintiff to attend such examination. An independent medical examination is generally requested so that it can be later used to strengthen the party’s argument in claiming a Plaintiff has or has not actually suffered the said injuries they claim to have suffered. When requested by an insurance company, it is clear that they are requesting these examinations in hopes that the assessment report provided after the examination is completed will be more aligned with their arguments and not those of the Plaintiff. In fact, insurance companies will attempt to use familiar doctors on a frequent basis so that a more favourable report is produced. 

This may cause one to wonder if they should decline their attendance to an examination. While one may choose to not attend a scheduled examination, it is not recommended they do so. This is especially true when an individual is receiving benefits as they risk these benefits being put on hold or cut off altogether. The best thing one can do when asked to attend an independent medical examination, is to do just that. By showing up to the examination and being as honest as possible with the medical professional, one can give themselves the opportunity to have their recollections of the event heard and the ailments they’ve suffered noted and assessed. This will be helpful in having the assessor truly understand how the subject accident has altered one’s life and their capabilities. 

In fact, these types of examinations can be a crucial element in one’s case due to the fact that they portray an honest and truthful assessment of one’s injuries. Therefore, you should not be worried or concerned that this event will automatically have a negative impact on your case but perceive these examinations in a more positive light.