Retired ALJ Casts Doubt on 'Independence' of Independent Medical Examiners

Tuesday, January 23, 2018 | 0

The latest news story calling the independence of so-called independent medical examiners into question came out of Wisconsin Public Radio on Monday.

The story comes on the heels of similar articles published in December by the Honolulu Civil Beat and the Seattle Times, and years after the New York Times published a story headlined “Exams of Injured Workers Fuel Mutual Mistrust.”

Retired Wisconsin administrative law judge Joe Schaeve’s comments to Wisconsin Public Radio echoed comments made to the Civil Beat and the Seattle Times as well.

Schaeve said many independent medical examiners’ opinions were so predictable that “it’s almost a waste of time to read the report, because you know what it’s going to say.”

“It winds up with the doctor saying ‘Not work-related’ or ‘It’s all in his mind,’” Schaeve said. “You can almost sense it coming when you spend 30 years reading these reports.”

Speaking to the Seattle Times in December, paralegal Ruben Vela, who specializes in workers’ compensation cases, said, “I’d say 90% of (independent medical evaluations) come back against the injured worker.”

And a Hawaii state senator behind proposed IME-reform legislation told the Civil Beat that he’s met a strong fight from the insurance industry.

“They must be really afraid of what a truly independent medical examiner is going to find,” Sen. Karl Rhoads, D-Oahu, said in December.