The Basics of Independent Medical Examinations Under Illinois Workers' Compensation Law
In Illinois, the Workers Compensation Act provides that an employer has the right to have any injured worker examined by an "independent" physician of their choosing. There are some things about these examinations that it is helpful for the injured worker to understand, because often these examinations have an effect on workers compensation benefits.
There is a lot to understand about independent medical examinations, but we will start with the basics. The first thing to understand is that the employer has a legal right to have an examination performed. This means that if an injured worker fails to appear for an examination requested by the employer, the employer may legally terminate benefits.
Another important fact to understand is that although the Illinois Workers Compensation Act treats these physicians as "independent", most often they are not. The employer, and more specifically the Workers Compensation Insurance Company, develops relationships over time with particular physicians, ones who understand that they will get repeat business from the insurance company if they help to save them money on a workers compensation claim. That being said, it is important to be as cooperative and forthcoming at your independent medical examination. Occasionally, they will agree with your treating physician. And, regardless of whether they agree with your treating physician, we want to make sure that their opinion is based on all of the facts that you are aware of that are important to your case.
There are many more things to understand about independent medical examinations, but this will hopefully provide a start. We will be posting more about this topic in the future.
