When there is a lawsuit for personal injuries in the State of New York, there is something called an IME or Independent Medical Exam. There is no such thing. There’s nothing referred to in the law as an Independent Medical Exam. The exams that are called IMEs are actually insurance medical exams. These are defense medical exams. These are done by doctors hired by the insurance company for the defendants to examine the plaintiff who is claiming injuries. The doctors know who is paying their bill and will often decide on the matter in the best interests of the insurance company that hired them. These exams should be treated as an adversarial examination. When our client is subject to an insurance medical exam, one of our attorneys should be present to advocate on his or her behalf.
You will need an experienced personal injury attorney to help you through the process of independent medical exams because someone might try and tell you that your injuries are not as serious as they actually are. In some situations, spinal cord injuries may be passed off as a soft tissue injury which is not considered a serious injury by the state of New York. The injuries that are considered to be serious injuries include dismemberment, significant disfigurement, fracture, loss of a fetus, permanent loss of use of a body organ, permanent consequential limitation of an organ, significant limitation of the use of a body function or a medical injury that prevents the person from going about their daily activities for at least 90 days immediately following the accident.
The Law Offices of Daniel A. Kalish is proud to serve the people of White Plains, Westchester County, and the Bronx. Our firm handles personal injuries, wrongful deaths, and legal malpractice. If you need our assistance, contact our White Plains law firm for a free consultation.