Often, courts and insurance companies want injured employees to be evaluated by a doctor so they can understand the full extent of their injuries and how they impact their ability to work. Unfortunately, you might be required to see a doctor chosen by someone else, and they might not exactly be on your side.
“Impartial” medical examiners are appointed by the courts, while “independent” examiners are hired by the insurance company. Independent examiners should always be scrutinized, and impartial examiners can also exhibit biases. We may be able to refute the biased doctor’s findings with findings from a different doctor of your own choosing. You should also report your suspicions to the court, as a biased doctor might violate the court’s rules.
For help with your claim, call our Boston Workers’ Compensation attorneys at the Law Office of John J. Sheehan at (617) 925-6407.
How a Doctor Might Be Biased Against You in a Massachusetts Workers’ Comp Case
We do not often think of doctors as being biased against a patient, but it sometimes happens. This can be problematic in legal proceedings related to a Workers’ Compensation claim.
Pressure From Insurance Companies
A bias might arise in various ways and is not always conscious or intentionally malicious. Our Beverly, MA Workers’ Compensation attorneys might discover that the doctor has a conflict of interest. Independent examiners hired by insurance companies may feel pressured to skew their findings in favor of the insurance company that pays them.
Bribes
Another possibility is that the insurance company is bribing the doctor to skew their findings in their favor. This is sometimes harder to detect, as bribes are illegal and usually kept secret. However, if you suspect that the insurance company is somehow using the doctor against you, tell your lawyer.
Personal Beliefs
Impartial examiners hired by the Department of Industrial Accidents (DIA) or appointed by the court may be more trustworthy since they are not on the insurance company’s payroll. However, they may still exhibit biases. They might assume that Workers’ Compensation claimants are exaggerating their injuries and subconsciously skew their examination against them. They might instead have personal biases against specific groups based on color, creed, gender, or sexual orientation.
Getting Evaluated by a Doctor for Workers’ Compensation in Massachusetts
Doctors evaluate Workers’ Compensation claimants to determine if injuries are disabling and sufficiently work-related. While the insurance company can require injured workers to be seen by an independent medical examiner, nothing is stopping you from also seeing your own doctor.
After you file your claim, the insurance company may direct you to a list of preferred doctors. These doctors are not treating your injuries. They are examining you as part of the Workers’ Compensation legal process. Typically, injured workers see an independent medical examiner after receiving treatment from their own doctor. If you refuse to see anyone from this list, the insurance company might deny your claim.
According to § 45, your own doctor may examine you in addition to one from the list of preferred providers. If your claim is denied and you take your case to a Workers’ Compensation hearing, courts may require that you be seen by a doctor from a list of impartial doctors.
According to Mass. Gen. Laws Ch 152 § 11A, the court is required to maintain a list of impartial medical examiners. If your case is subject to an appeal of a conference order, meaning your case goes to a formal hearing, the court may require that you be seen by one of these doctors before the conference.
What to Do if You Believe the Doctor is Biased in Your Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Case
The doctor evaluating you as part of a Workers’ Compensation claim should not be biased one way or the other. Ideally, they should be impartial, but this is not always the case.
If your case goes before a judge, the court might require that you be evaluated by a doctor from a list of impartial physicians maintained by the court before the conference. If you believe the doctor is biased against you at this stage, you must inform your lawyer so they can notify the court.
The court might direct you to a different impartial doctor. We might also present findings from your own doctor as evidence if the impartial doctor’s findings are not helpful to your case. You should probably see your own doctor anyway, regardless of what the insurance company’s preferred physician says. Having a second opinion is helpful for various reasons.
How to Prove That the Doctor in Your Workers’ Compensation Case is Biased
Proving that a doctor is biased against you can be challenging because proving what someone personally thinks or believes is tricky. Even so, we might find evidence that shows how the doctor is biased and how that bias might have impacted your case.
If you believe the doctor is biased against you, we can check their professional background for any history of discrimination. Perhaps former employers or coworkers also noticed signs of biases or discrimination against certain patients from this doctor and can support your claims. Maybe they were previously disciplined for showing biases against patients, and there is a record of it with their employer.
Your testimony about what you experienced during the doctor’s medical examination may also be important. Statements made to you by the doctor might shed light on the bias. It is also possible that the doctor’s notes about your case highlight their bias.
If we learn of other patients who have also experienced an unfair bias from this particular doctor, they might be able to testify in your case. If a doctor has a history of biases or discrimination, multiple patients might come forward.
Contact Our Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Attorneys for Legal Support
For help with your claim, call our Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation attorneys at the Law Office of John J. Sheehan at (617) 925-6407 and get a free initial case evaluation.