Our Michigan car accident lawyers frequently represent accident and injury victims who are set up for "independent medical examinations" by their no-fault insurance companies. The problem is that these doctors are not "independent" at all, but rather high-priced hired guns who are paid a lot of money to terminate the accident victims insurance benefits. Many of these doctors do not even treat patients and make millions of dollars from the insurance companies by performing these exams. One neurologist recently admitted to earning over $10 million dollars for these exams.
There's a good reason why the insurance companies are willing to fork over these huge sums of money to these doctors. It's simple, they can pay a doctor less than $1,000 to perform and evaluation that will terminate benefits and it will save the insurance company tens of thousands of dollars in the future. The insurance adjuster will use this bogus examination report to cut off medical benefits, wage loss benefits, attendant care service benefits, and other benefits under the Michigan Auto No-Fault Insurance laws. These same doctors perform exams for employers and insurance companies in worker's compensation cases.
The scary thing is that these not so independent doctors cause significant harm and damage to the injury victims. As a result of their bogus findings, the insurance company terminates payment for necessary medical treatment which leaves the patient without treatment and facing substantial medical bills. By cutting wage loss benefits, the injury victim is without income to support himself or his family.
The only recourse when benefits are terminated is to file a No-Fault insurance lawsuit. We file these lawsuits regularly to force the insurance company to pay back and future benefits, but the cases take time. During the process of the lawsuit, the accident victim is still left without medical benefits or an wage loss payment. Fortunately, we have been able to hammer the insurance companies and force them to pay substantial settlements to our clients. In many cases, we even get the insurance company to pay our legal fees.
If you were injured in an auto accident and had your benefits terminated because of an "independent medical exam," you need to call us right away so that we can start working on your case. In an exam has been scheduled for you in the near future, you'll want to speak to our lawyers so that we can give you advice before your exam. We may be able to prevent the doctor from cutting off your benefits.
