More Than Half of Applicants Fail Designated Doctor Test as Shortage Grows

William Nemeth has been a designated doctor at the Texas Division of Workers' Compensation for more than 20 years, examining patients and filing reports to help resolve disputes about workers' injuries. He was medical director at the division for eight years, and has been a board-certified orthopedic surgeon since 1980 and a certified independent medical examiner since 1996. “All I do is workers' comp,” he said. Yet Nemeth has failed the workers' comp designated doctor certification test twice, and he's now wondering if he should put in the time, trainin...