#1 What is an Independent Medical Exam (IME)?

QUESTION: What is an Independent Medical Examination, also known as an IME?

ANSWER: An Independent Medical Examination (IME) is requested by insurance companies to evaluate your car accident-related injuries, not for treatment. Despite the name, IMEs are not independent. IME doctors are hired and paid by the insurance company. Their role is to examine you and write a report that provides justification for the insurance company to stop paying for your medical treatment. If the insurance company is requiring you to attend an IME, consult with a personal injury attorney. They will provide advice and guidance on how to protect your benefits from ending.

What is an Independent Medical Examination, also known as an IME?

Based on Oregon law, any insurance company paying PIP benefits for a car accident has the right to require that you be examined by one of the insurance company’s medical providers.

There are significant differences between the healthcare providers who are treating you for the injuries from your auto accident and an IME doctor.

The first thing you need to know about having an appointment with an IME provider is that they’re not seeing you to treat you for your car accident. They are not your doctor and they’re not on your medical provider team. They will examine you, but they won’t provide treatment.

It’s important to understand that there is no patient-doctor relationship with an IME doctor.

That means they are examining you for the benefit of the insurance company that’s hired them.

Secondly, while they’re called ‘Independent Medical Exams, there’s nothing independent about them. 95% of IME reports say that the person they examined either doesn’t need treatment or whatever treatment that a patient needs is not due to the auto accident. That is why we call them ‘Insurance’ Medical Exams, not ‘Independent’ Medical Exams.

Third, remember, the doctors are hired and paid by the insurance company. They’re requiring the exam in an attempt to get out of paying your medical bills. There is a small group of specific doctors that insurance companies use for IMEs. The insurance company does not randomly pick doctors to be fair and impartial.

They have a network of doctors that the insurance company knows will write medical reports that will work against you and result in payment by the insurance company for your medical treatment being stopped.

It’s important to know when you go to an IME, the doctor and the exam are anything but independent. The providers hired by the insurance company are not there to help you get better.

Not only are they not on your side or even neutral — they are examining you to help the insurance company.

If you are required to attend an IME, you can read more about how to prepare for your IME appointment here.

Whether you’re our client or not, we want to be a bridge of support for you.

We’ve developed a robust library of articles and videos organized into four topics which include our responses to the personal injury claim-related questions we’re asked most often.

• Top 10 Personal Injury Claim Mistakes to Avoid
• What You Need to Know About Your Claim
• How Are My Medical Bills & Wage Loss Paid
• How to Prepare for Your Independent Medical Exam

The articles provide advice and guidelines to help you navigate each phase of the personal injury claims process. Whether we represent you or not, we are passionate about helping you protect your rights, you receiving the medical care you need to recover from your injuries, and having the information you need to avoid mistakes that can harm your personal injury claim.