Can statements made by a workers’ comp claimant to an IME physician be used to convict the claimant of workers’ comp fraud? The court in, Commonwealth v. Wilson, Mass: Appeals Court 2013, said yes. The court upheld the conviction for workers’ comp fraud based substantially on the misrepresentations by the [...]
If you are a board certified physician and are interested in obtaining additional income doing file reviews, it is quite simple to get started. Many of the major players are selecting physicians for this work from the SEAK Medical File Review Directory. Here is an example of an email one [...]
The March 2013 issue of the Journal of Rheumatology includes the article, A Medicolegal Analysis of Worker Appeals for Fibromyalgia as a Compensable Condition Following Workplace Soft-Tissue Injury. The cases studied were appeals for fibromyalgia after soft tissue injuries. RESULTS: All injuries were of a soft-tissue type, without persistent [...]
Physicians determine causation in workers’ compensation cases primarily based on excluding other potential causes. The Journal of Occupational Medicine (London) ran an interesting article, How Physicians Allocate Causation: A Scenario Study With Factorial Design. The results and conclusion of the study are as follows: RESULTS: The nature of the [...]
The Louisiana Court of Appeals, in NITCHER v. NORTHSHORE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER, La: Court of Appeals, 1st Circuit 2012 dealt with an orthopedic surgeon, LaBorde, who wrote in his report that the claimant was not totally disabled and could return to sedentary work. The IME physician qualified that statement at [...]
New Expert Witness Blog from SEAK designed for attorneys and experts. We will be posting articles and other resources of interest. Check it out: blog.seakexperts.com
The 10 Biggest Legal Mistakes Physicians Make When Filing a Claim for Disability By Edward O. Comitz, Esq. Executive Summary The significant increase in physician disability claims over the past several years has caused insurers to scrutinize the terms of their policies and any claims made under them more [...]
The 10 Biggest Legal Mistakes Physicians Make When Dealing with Practice Support Agreements By Roger N. Morris, Esq., and Jay M. Johnson, Esq. Executive Summary New physicians looking to start their practice face many challenges. The need to earn a living and the desire to pay off loans require [...]
The 10 Biggest Legal Mistakes Physicians Make in Bankruptcy Matters By Steven B. Ramsdell, Esq. Executive Summary The bankruptcy process consists of intertwined procedural and substantive rules that must be carefully observed if one is to maximize the probability of achieving his or her objectives, whether as debtor or [...]
The 10 Biggest Legal Mistakes Physicians Make in Protecting Their Personal Assets By Philip A. Goldblum, Esq. Executive Summary The goal of asset protection planning is to protect and preserve assets from being adversely affected by events such as a lawsuit, divorce, illness, death, business failure, or even a [...]