Why Do I Have to See a Doctor Selected by the Defense?

A Defense Medical Examination or “DME” Is Used by the Defense to Prepare for Trial in Your Personal Injury Case.

Insurance companies call them “Independent Medical Examinations.” (IMEs); However, they are anything but independent. Under California law the Defendant in a personal injury case has the right to have the Plaintiff examined by a doctor of his own choosing. Theoretically, this allows a Defendant to have a medical expert evaluate the Plaintiff to confirm whether the Plaintiff is injured as he or she and their doctors claim. In reality, this right has been warped and distorted into a weapon insurance companies and defense attorneys use to minimize and avoid damage payments to truly injured victims.

Defense Medical Examinations have developed into a profitable cottage business for doctors willing to sell their time and their souls. Most doctors make hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, and many doctors earn over a million dollars a year consulting for insurance companies, doing Defense Medical Examinations and testifying against injured Plaintiffs. They tell judges and juries the same stories over and over again: that the Plaintiff was not injured; that if the Plaintiff was injuried, it was minor and resolved within 6 to 8 weeks; that the Plaintiff’s doctors have over treated and overcharged for their services; and that if the Plaintiff appears to have sustained a serious injury, it is probably due to pre-existing conditions and not due to the accident. These “professional witnesses” are retained over and over by the same insurance companies and defense attorneys because they have proven themselves to be persuasive on the witness stand.

We Expose These Doctors For What They Are

The most effective antidote to the false and fraudulent efforts to deny fair compensation by insurance companies and defendants is the truth. Not just the truth that you and your treating doctor will tell. The truth must also include pulling back the curtain on these despicable tactics by showing judges and juries the bias of defense doctors by revealing how much they earn doing this defense work, and through use of peer-reviewed studies that debunk the lies crafted and delivered by the defense industry.

If you’ve been injured and are facing a DME/IME, don’t let the defense’s tactics derail your right to justice. Contact us today at 818-716-6400 to defend yourself against these deplorable tactics.