If you have been asked by the insurance company ? either your own or that of the at-fault driver?s ? you will here them tell you that you will be undergoing an ?independent? medical examination, or an IME. Simply calling the medical exam ?independent,? however, does not make it so. And in this case, nothing could be further from the truth.

The reality is that this medical exam is a tool that insurance companies use to limit or deny you continued medical treatment or money for your personal injuries. These insurance doctors are regularly hired by the insurance companies because the doctors give them what they want: a report that helps the insurance company weasel out of paying benefits to an injured Utah accident victim. When the doctors start actually being independent and finding that the victim is injured just as they claim, the insurance companies go out and find themselves another doctor who will say what they want them to say. It is a sad fact that a slanted medical opinion can be bought, but it is unfortunately a reality in the insurance company context.

Just because you should expect the doctor to be less than independent, however, does not mean that you should not submit to this type of exam. If it is requested by your own insurance company, they will probably cut-off benefits if you refuse to do it. Likewise when the insurance company of the at-fault driver wants you to submit to such an exam. If you refuse to permit the exam to take place, the insurance company will probably not make any type of meaningful settlement offer and/or will ask the judge to force the exam to happen. In the Utah legal context, this is known as a Rule 35 examination.

If you have been asked to submit to and insurance company medical exam, the best piece of advice I can give you is to be absolutely and completely honest about your medical condition and history. You should also give your best effort to any tests that they administer to you, such as a hand squeeze test. Keep in mind that they administer these tests not to see how strong you are, but to see if you are being consistent in your efforts. Theoretically, a person who was trying to feign injury, would be ?holding back? and would not be giving it their best effort, thereby leading to an inconsistency in test results. You should also bring someone along with you. This could be a spouse, parent or significant other. The doctor will be less likely to try and funny stuff and the other person can be a witness if there is a dispute about what was asked and answered during the exam. rk