Part 2, and I will continue right into the ime in the next part
In New York State, a pivotal point for injured workers filing workers' compensation claims is the medical evaluation. When a worker is initially injured or made sick at work, the worker notifies the employer, sees a doctor for diagnosis and treatment, and files a claim. Based on the treating physician's report, workers will be entitled to receive wage-replacement benefits and reimbursement for medical treatment for injuries and illnesses related to work.
Once the claim is filed, the insurance carrier has the right to demand that the injured worker see a doctor chosen by the insurance company. This speciously named evaluation is called an Independent Medical Examination, or "IME." However, IMEs are anything but independent and they frequently don't appear to be "medical" examinations of any kind. They are paid for by -- and conducted on behalf of -- insurance companies, self-insured employers and the State Insurance Fund, a quasi-state agency that provides workers' compensation insurance for approximately 40 percent of the state's employers. Moreover, IMEs are used by these interested parties as ammunition to challenge claims, lawsuits and the evaluations of injured workers' treating physicians.
Claimants must attend IMEs or risk hampering their own cases. In particular, workers receiving wage-replacement benefits and/or medical treatment may have their benefits slashed or cut off entirely if they fail to appear.
The results of this initial evaluation conducted by Independent Medical Examiners are critical for injured workers attempting to establish their cases. Based upon the initial IME evaluation, the insurance company can unilaterally, without a hearing, and with no prior notice, slash or completely cut off the wage-replacement benefits and medical treatment an injured worker is receiving. Although the injured worker can later dispute such actions at a hearing, it can take between six weeks and six months for such a hearing to be scheduled after receipt of notice from the insurance company that benefits are being cut. In New York, benefits can be cut too as little as one-sixth of a worker's average weekly wage or $40 per week.
http://politicalclassdismissed.com/
http://www.timesunion.com/