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Personal Injury
- New York state man recovers $200K for fingers lost to lawn mower
- Eight Powerful Reasons to Hire a Local Attorney
- Court Allows Claims For Emotional Distress After Alleged Breach Of Contract To Continue
- Wal-Mart Limits Subrogation Rights Against Workers
- Pennsylvania Worker recovers for fall from ladder bought at Home Depot
Premises Liability: The Slip and Fall
- NYC to pay $2.75M for softball accident in school gym class
- New case law on slilp and fall on icey sidewalks owned by a City
- Worker who lost leg in construction accident receives $13M
- Boy blinded in ATV rollover gets $6M settlement
- ELMIRA ATTORNEY CONTINUES TO INVESTIGATE OUTBREAK OF LEGIONNAIRES’ DISEASE AT THE FLANNERY TOWERS
Workers' Compensation
- New York Times article on biased "Independant" Medical Examiners
- No Work Jobs
- Prison Guard receives settlement in MRSA case
- New blog post at the Pa Injury Law blog about the effect Bush had on OSHA
- New post on the Pa Work Injury Law Blog about what to do when you're laid off
Vehicle and Automobile Accidents
- Pennsylvania Car Accident Plaintiff's award of $400,000 Upheld On Appeal
- An unsafe intersection in Athens Township?
- Pennsylvania Superior Court Case Quashing Underinsured Motorist Carrier Appeal
- Pa. Superior Court Allows UIM And Bad Faith To Proceed At Same Time
- People injured in Springfield Township, Bradford County automobile crash
General
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- CALL YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS AND URGE SUPPORT FOR THE ARBITRATION FAIRNESS ACT OF 2009
- Another ATV Death
- Bradford County, Pennsylvania has a new website
- No conflict of interest between Bradford County, Pennsylvania's new Judge and new District Attorney, despite them cousins
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Judge campaign candidates speak at dinner in Towanda
Judge Beirne unopposed in local race
Attorney General Tom Corbett to visit Bradford County
Beirne will run for full term as judge
Bradford County Employers Laying Off Workers
Death Benefits Not Mandatory for PA Car Insurance
Bradford County: Judge Beirne presiding
Pennsylvania Senate confirms Beirne as Bradford County judge
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Personal Injury
- Questions for Your Doctor In Personal Injury Cases
- Traumatic Brain Injury: By The [Staggering] Numbers
- What is an Independent Medical Examination?
- Common Questions About the Legal Process
- The Wrongful Death Of A Child - Part Two
Premises Liability: The Slip and Fall
- Cracked, Broken or Irregular Sidewalks Causing a Fall
- Dog Bites
- If You Have Been Bitten or Attacked by a Dog, Then You Need to Read This Article
- New Pennsylvania Superior Court Case on Dog Attack
- Lead Poisoning Threatens Pregnant Women
Workers' Compensation
- New York Times article on Independent Medical Exams
- Response to Time Magazine Article: "Doctor's View: Can Health Coverage Cause Pain?"
- Specific Loss Benefits
- Reimbursement for Travel Expenes in Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Cases
- Flow of Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Claim Documents Prior To Litigation
Vehicle and Automobile Accidents
- Reducing The Impact of A Whiplash Injury
- Car Accident Injuries: Neck Pain
- Multi-Truck Accident in Susquehanna County Results in Hospitalization
- Repeat Offender Facing DUI Charges After Accident Lands Passenger in Hospital
- Driver Strikes Mother and Daughter in School Crossing Zone
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Personal Injury
When a medical expert testifies "within a reasonable degree of medical certainty"...what does that really mean?
In the case of Griffin v University of Pittsburgh, which is a May 19, 2008, Superior Court case, the court held that when a physician testifies that there was a 51-49% probability that the negligent act caused the injury, this was legally insufficient to offer an opinion to a “reasonable degree of medical certainty.” Most medical experts spit out the phrase “to a reasonable degree of medical certainty” without actually defining its meaning or actually knowing what it truly means. It does not mean "maybe" or "probably" or "might be" or any of those equivocal phrases. However, it DOES not mean 100 % assurances. The court doesn't actually give a specific percentage, but it has to be more than in this case. Although I have no support for this, if a medical expert said they were more than 85% certain, I'd wager lunch that this would be enough for most appellate courts.
Therefore, if you have a defense doctor who is a little less sure of the opinion he/she is offering, but also uses the magic language ask him/her to put a percentage on it. You might get lucky! The doctor could give some kind of split percentage as in this case and you can argue that based upon the Griffin case, the opinion is legally insufficient.
Workers' Compensation
New York Times article on biased "Independant" Medical Examiners
Recently, The New York Times began putting together a series of articles on the New York State workers’ compensation system. One of the articles printed in the April 1, 2009, edition was entitled “a world of hurt: exams of injured workers fuel mutual mistrust.” The article was written by N.R. Kleinfield and can be seen here.The whole gist of the series is the decline and unfairness of the New York workers’ compensation system. However, this article specifically focuses on the doctors who are used by the insurance companies as so called “independent” medical examiners. As this article proves, these examiners are nothing at all close to being "independent.” As one of the doctors indicated in the article, in order to be certified as an examiner in workers’ compensation cases, “basically, if you haven’t murdered anyone and you have a medical license, you get certified.”
Another aspect of the article talks about the significant disparity between the opinions of the treating physicians and the opinions of these insurance doctors or more commonly referred to as IMEs.
Although this article dealt specifically with the New York State workers’ compensation system, it has been my experience that these insurance company doctors permeate throughout the country. Actually, here at Carroll & Carroll, P.C., we like to refer to them as Defense Medical Examiners or DMEs.
Insurance adjusters know which doctors are favorable to them and which doctors are not. They know it based upon their own experience. Therefore, the doctors who will write an opinion that is favorable to the insurance company more often than the claimant will get more business.
I know some doctors who have their own private practice and actually see patients but also make over a million dollars a year merely doing insurance company work. They obviously know who pays the bills.
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FAQs
Personal Injury
- How long is all this going to take?
- The insurance company offered me a settlement almost immediately after my serious accident. Should I accept it?
- The insurance company says that I don’t need a lawyer to settle this. What do you think?
- What is my case worth?
- What factors determine who is at fault in a car accident?
Workers' Compensation
- What happens if I return to a modified duty job and then I am laid off?
- If I am unable to return to the type of work I did before I was injured, what happens?
- If I am injured on the job can I choose the doctor who treats me?
- Should an injured worker apply for unemployment benefits?
- What medical benefits does the Act provide to a worker after they have sustained an on-the-job injury?
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