Orthopedic Independent Medical Examinations (IME)
Objective orthopedic IMEs for insurers, employers and attorneys, from a board-certified surgeon. Serving Port St. Lucie and Palm Beach Gardens, FL.
What is an IME, and what is it for?
An IME exists to answer a question a treating relationship cannot answer neutrally: is the injury what it is claimed to be, how severe is it, and has the treatment so far been reasonable. The examination covers the medical history, the imaging, the treatment record, and a focused physical examination where the question calls for one. What comes out is a written report — diagnosis, functional limitations, treatment recommendations, prognosis — set down in a form that will survive scrutiny. The work is not advocacy. It is not performed on behalf of the claimant, the employer, the insurer or counsel, and the findings land wherever the evidence puts them.
When is an IME requested?
Accident-Related Injury Claims
An impartial read on injuries from a road, workplace or public-liability accident.
Acute Orthopedic & Soft Tissue Trauma
Assessment of fractures, ligament and tendon damage, and soft-tissue injury.
Chronic Pain & Functional Limitation Cases
Measured findings on mobility and what the claimant can actually do day to day.
Spine, Shoulder, Knee, and Joint Pain Claims
Separating pre-existing wear from damage the incident caused.
Post-Surgical Outcome & Recovery Reviews
Whether recovery has tracked the way it should after the procedure.
Causation & Injury-Event Relationship Determination
Whether the injury and the reported event are in fact linked.
Permanent Impairment Ratings
Long-term impairment, rated against published clinical standards.
Disputed or Conflicting Medical Case Opinions
A deciding opinion where earlier assessments contradict each other.
What the report gives you
- A neutral medical analysis, owed to no party
- Findings explained, and supported by what was examined
- Documentation detailed enough to hold up under challenge
- Disputes resolved on evidence rather than attrition
- Causation set out plainly instead of left implied
- Functional limitation assessed accurately, not estimated
- A defensible basis for return-to-work and care decisions
- Inconsistencies between what is reported and what is found, noted
- A clearer picture for counsel and insurers to work from
- Carried out by a board-certified orthopedic surgeon
Reports are returned promptly, and written to be used.
Further reading: What an Orthopedic IME Covers, Including Impairment Ratings.
FAQ
Common Patient Questions
It is an examination by a physician with no treating relationship to the claimant, giving an impartial opinion on what caused an injury, how extensive it is, and what it means going forward. It is normally commissioned in insurance, legal, workers’ compensation or disability matters.
Most commonly an employer or a workers’ compensation board, an insurer, a law firm on either side of a matter, or a government or legal agency.
Photo identification, any recent imaging you hold (X-ray, MRI or CT), your medical records and operative notes, and an up-to-date list of medications and treatments.
No. An IME is an assessment, not care. The examining physician does not prescribe, treat or take you on as a patient — that separation is what makes the opinion independent.
Most run 30 to 90 minutes. What moves it is the nature of the injury, how much documentation there is to work through, and how involved the physical examination needs to be.
That is the entire purpose. The opinion is evidence-based and owed to no side — not the claimant, the employer, the insurer or the lawyers.
Commonly 30 to 90 minutes in the room, depending on the case, with the records reviewed in detail afterwards.
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Orthopedic IMEs in Port St. Lucie & Palm Beach Gardens
This is offered at both locations — our orthopedic office in Port St. Lucie (1100 SW St. Lucie West Blvd., Ste. 105) and our orthopedic office in Palm Beach Gardens (11380 Prosperity Farms Rd, Ste 204). Patients travel in from Stuart, Jensen Beach, Fort Pierce, Jupiter, North Palm Beach and West Palm Beach — see every area we serve, or call 561-202-8886.