I have been involved in thousands of injury cases in my 22 years of practice and have yet to see an “independent” medical examination, aka “IME.” Instead I typically see a defense medical exam by an insurance doctor who is paid six or seven figures each year to do these exams. The doctor is not there to find the truth, but to serve their clients: the insurance company and defense law firm. These exams are the farthest thing from independent. These doctors typically downplay the injury, suggest the plaintiff is exaggerating and misstate what happened at the exam. As a matter of fundamental fairness, the injured plaintiff should be permitted to bring a nurse to the defense medical exam to observe, take notes and record it. 

In personal injury lawsuits there is almost always an insurance company that controls the defense. Under New Jersey Court Rule 4:19, “Physical And Mental Examination Of Persons,” the insurance company or defense counsel will arrange to have the plaintiff examined by their doctor. Defense attorneys call this an “IME,” but there is nothing independent about it. For starters, Rule 4:19 states in pertinent part, “In an action in which a claim is asserted by a party for personal injuries or in which the mental or physical condition of a party is in controversy, the adverse party may require the [plaintiff] to submit to a physical or mental examination ….” (emphasis added). The defense medical exam (“DME”) is by rule, adversarial.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]