Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

According to a recent study between 2004 and September 2008, New York issued 16 citations to hospitals for incomplete, altered or missing medical records. In a review of the documents, it was found that the records were altered or missing when a medical screw-up was involved. Workers at city-run hospitals faked records to cover up incidents or claimed that they couldn't find the data when investigators asked.

One such incident occurred at New York Hospital. A young man showed up on September 8, 2005 and was diagnosed as suffering a "cardiac event." An IV was placed by a fourth-year medical student but it was listed in the records that a medical doctor administered the IV since med students are allowed to. Over the next two days, the medical student and several nurses made entries into the record that the patient's arm was fine, was "warm to the touch" and that there were "no signs of inflammation." During this time however, his arm was covered from the knuckles to his elbows in a material called Kerlix. When the Kerlix was removed, patient's arm was blistering and his left hand was "cool to touch and pulseless." The patient ended up having his arm amputated at the elbow.

If you have been injured by the negligence or mistake of medical professionals or their staff please visit my website at www.ostadlaw.com or call my Baltimore or Rockville office at 1-800-320-0080 for a free initial consultatio

According to published reports the use of independent medical examiners, or Independent Medical Examinations ("IME") as most insurance companies would call it, or Defense Medical Examinations ("DME") has come into question due to discrepancies between the exam of the person and the report of the doctor. Under the workers' compensation system, workers with bona fide injuries are entitled to medical care and replacement wages which are usually paid for by their employer's insurer. Independent exams are used to weed out workers who exaggerate injuries or get unnecessary care by having a neutral exam by a doctor that the insurance company selects and pays for. A review of case files published by the NYT found that the exam reports are routinely tilted to benefit insurers by minimizing or dismissing injuries.

Under Maryland Rules the insurers must seek a court order to have the injured person examined by a Defense Medical Examiner, unless both the Plaintiff and the insurer agree otherwise. Claimants are permitted to bring anyone along they choose to witness or film the sessions. But this has not stopped the doctors from saying one thing in the exam and putting the exact opposite on the report. For example, my Baltimore office had a case where the DME doctor examined an injured person whom we represented and provided two different reports with completely different scenario and opinions. A good practitioner can take advantage of these discrepancies and discredit the doctor's opinions based on his own reports.

For their part, the doctors argue that they do not write the final reports but instead either send a transcription or a checklist into the entities who the insurers go through to get the doctor appointments. The doctors then receive the report back and sign off, but as one doctor put it "I just sign them...If I read them all, I'd have them coming out of my ears and I'd never have time to talk to my wife. They want speed and volume. That's the name of the game." The insurers use of Defense Medical Examinations, that are not so independent, is a practice that is depriving many legitimately injured people from receiving the compensation they deserve and need.

Continue reading "Baltimore Personal Injury Report -- Independent Exams for Injured Workers May Not Be So Independent" »