3 Goals Of An Independent Medical Evaluation
Personal injury lawsuits are often complex. There are many factors that can affect the outcome of the case, and a large sum of money is typically tied to the outcome of the lawsuit.
One of the tools that an attorney has at his or her disposal is an independent medical evaluation. These evaluations are conducted by a medical professional who is not the primary physician that has been treating an injured party.
The results of an independent medical evaluation can accomplish several goals that will help prove the validity of a personal injury claim.
1. Verify the Injuries
Since a personal injury lawsuit rests entirely on the validity of a plaintiff's injuries, an independent medical evaluation can make or break a case.
A medical expert who has not previously treated the plaintiff is brought in to conduct a thorough examination. The result of this examination is a non-biased opinion of the plaintiff's injuries.
An independent medical evaluation will be compared against the plaintiff's original doctor's report to determine the validity of the injuries reported in the personal injury lawsuit.
2. Verify the Impact of the Injuries
The primary purpose of any personal injury lawsuit is to obtain financial compensation for any damages caused by an injury inflicted by someone else's negligence. The impact of an injury can vary, and it can be challenging for the court to determine how an injury has affected the plaintiff's life.
A medical professional will use the independent medical evaluation as a tool to determine the extent of the plaintiff's injuries and the ways the injuries have affected the plaintiff's daily life.
Any effect on emotional health, ongoing pain or suffering, and the loss of ability to engage in social events can all be determined by an independent medical evaluation. Once these impacts have been verified by a non-biased medical expert, an attorney can assign value to them and proceed with the lawsuit.
3. Verify the Source of the Injury
The plaintiff will be asked to provide detailed information about his or her medical history as part of an independent medical evaluation. This information allows the evaluator to determine whether or not the injury sustained was the direct result of the negligent actions identified in a personal injury lawsuit.
Some unscrupulous individuals try to attribute old injuries to new accidents. A medical professional will easily be able to identify whether or not a person's injuries should serve as the basis of a personal injury case.
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