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When the IME Doctor Contradicts Your Treating Doctor in Maryland \| CallAmir.com

CallAmir.com · Maryland Personal Injury · Article 21

When the IME Doctor Disagrees With Yours

What Happens When the Defense's Examiner Contradicts Your Treating Physician

You have been treating your injuries for months. Your doctor has ordered imaging, prescribed therapy, and documented your slow, difficult recovery. Then the defense's independent medical exam report arrives, and it reads as though you were barely hurt at all — or that whatever happened, you are completely fine now.

For an injured person, that report can feel like a gut punch. It can feel as if the case is over. It is not. A disagreement between the IME doctor and your treating physician is one of the most ordinary things that happens in a Maryland injury claim.

Almost every contested injury case becomes, at some point, a disagreement between doctors. Maryland law is built to resolve exactly that.

Why the Two Opinions Differ

The two doctors are not doing the same job. Your treating physician's role is to diagnose and to help you heal. The IME doctor's role is to evaluate you on behalf of the party that is trying to limit what it pays. It should surprise no one that they reach different conclusions.

The IME report will typically say one or more familiar things: that you have recovered, that your injuries pre-dated the incident, that your continued treatment is unnecessary, or that your complaints are out of proportion to the objective findings. None of that is a verdict. It is one opinion, purchased by one side.

Why Your Treating Doctor Usually Carries More Weight

★ Depth of the relationship Your treating doctor has seen you repeatedly, over time. They ordered the tests, watched how you responded to treatment, and documented the course of your recovery. The IME physician saw you once, briefly, in an exam arranged and paid for by the defense. A Maryland jury is entitled to consider that difference when deciding whom to believe.

★ Consistency of the record A treating record built over months — same complaints, steady treatment, honest reporting — is difficult to attack. It tells a coherent story. A one-visit IME opinion that contradicts that entire record is easier for a jury to discount, especially when the examiner performs the same service for insurers again and again.

How the Disagreement Actually Gets Decided

A conflict of medical opinion does not automatically doom or win a case. It gets resolved through the ordinary machinery of an injury claim.

• In negotiation, the strength of your medical records and the credibility of your treating doctor drive the value of any settlement offer.
• If the case is filed and tried, the jury hears from both sides and decides which medical opinion to accept. That is what juries are for.
• Your attorney can cross-examine the IME doctor — including on how often they perform these exams for the defense and how much of their income comes from it.

Where These Cases Are Actually Won and Lost

The IME opinion, standing alone, is rarely fatal. It becomes dangerous when it has something to attach to.

⚠ Treatment gaps hand the IME its power If you skipped weeks of prescribed therapy or missed appointments, the IME doctor will point to those gaps as proof you were not really hurting. The single most effective way to blunt an IME report is simple: follow through on the treatment your own doctor recommends.

⚠ Inconsistency and social media do the same A cheerful vacation photo, a post about a hike, an offhand comment that you feel great — any of these can make the IME opinion look correct. What you say and post while a claim is pending can quietly convert a weak defense report into a strong one.

What to Do When the Report Lands

The instinct to panic is understandable, and it is exactly the wrong response. A defense report is an opening move, not a final ruling.

• Keep treating as your own doctor directs. Do not stop because a defense report says you are fine.
• Do not contact the IME doctor or the insurance company to argue about the report.
• Bring the report to a Maryland personal injury attorney, who can measure it against your records and build the response.

A dueling-doctors case is a normal case. It is decided on the weight of the evidence — the depth of your treatment, the consistency of your record, and the credibility of your own physician. Those are things you can protect, starting today.

The defense doctor gets one opinion. Your treating record, built honestly over months, usually gets the last word.

This article is for general educational purposes only. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Maryland law changes, and every case turns on its own facts. If you or someone you love has been injured, speak with a Maryland personal injury attorney about your specific situation before making any decisions.

If you have been injured in Maryland, do not speak to the defendant's insurance company, their adjuster or attorney, it may jeopardize your case. Contact The Guerami Law Firm, LLC through CallAmir.com for a confidential consultation with Amir Guerami and his team.