By Kelly Wilbur, Esq. The majority of independent medical examinations (IMEs) are performed by doctors who specialize in musculoskeletal medicine, brain injury and mental health. There are, however, opportunities available for internal medicine physicians to perform IMEs. Internal medicine physicians can be asked to perform IMEs under a variety of circumstances. [...]
James B. Talmage, MD co-author of the text AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Disease and Injury Causation and contributing author Steven Babitsky, Esq. will lead the SEAK IME SKILLS FOR PHYSICIANS: THE MASTER'S PROGRAM on September 21-22, 2013 on Cape Cod MA. Dr. Talmage and Attorney Babitsky will cover [...]
By Steven Babitsky, Esq. The court in, Rodriguez v. WORKERS' COMPENSATION APPEAL BOARD, PA: Commonwealth Court 2013, dealt with a claimant who fell at work and sustained a menisci tear in her right knee. The issue was whether the fall aggravated the degenerative condition in her knee. The court upheld [...]
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 [...]
The journal Work in its 2013 issue carries as important article, Biopsychosocial Determinants of Work Outcomes of Workers With Occupational Injuries Receiving Compensation: A Prospective Study. The results of the study were as follows: RESULTS: The variables under investigation were: age, gender, duration of symptoms, pain severity, disability, work importance, [...]
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 April 2013 issue of Orthopedics has an important article entitled Predictors of Oswestry Disability Index Worsening After Lumbar Fusion. Smokers and obese surgical patients do not fare as well when undergoing lumbar fusion. The authors identified patients with an increase in their Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score after lumbar [...]
The Sea Crest Beach Hotel, Falmouth, Cape Cod, Massachusetts Saturday–Sunday, September 21-22, 2013 This is the most advanced training available on Independent Medical Evaluations (IMEs) and will be offered only once in 2013. Attendees will learn through lecture, case studies, questions and answers,demonstrations, and interactive learning how to distinguish themselves [...]
An editorial in the Journal of Medical Toxicology entitled “Fear Not the IME” calls for toxicologists to consider getting involved in an IME practice. Here is what the editorial had to say about The Business of Independent Medical Exams: Billing is based on time spent working on the [...]