Independent medical examination
An examination arranged and paid for by an insurer, performed by a clinician the insurer selects, that produces a report for the claim file rather than treatment for the person examined.
An independent medical examination, commonly shortened to IME, is an exam arranged and paid for by an insurer and performed by a clinician the insurer selects. The product is a written report that lands in the claim file next to the treating records. Rules on when one can be required and how the report is read are set by state law and the policy. Any live question is for a licensed attorney.
Collision Bureau is not a law firm and this is not legal or medical advice. It is general information about what happens after a crash. For advice on your situation, talk to an attorney licensed in your state or a treating clinician.
What an IME is
An independent medical examination is an examination with a specific audience. The insurer handling a claim arranges the appointment, selects the clinician who will perform it, and pays for the resulting report. The person being examined attends, is examined, and leaves. No care is prescribed, no follow-up is scheduled from the exam, and no treating relationship forms. The appointment produces a document, and the document is the point of it.
The word independent in the name refers to the examining clinician's relationship to the treating record, not to who selected the examiner. The clinician is independent of the people who have been caring for the person. The clinician is not independent of the insurer that arranged the exam. The paperwork records both facts, and later readers of the file see them in print.
How the exam and the report work
The appointment itself resembles a one-time consultation. In general terms, the examiner reviews records provided ahead of time, takes a history, examines the person, and writes a report. The report describes what was observed on that day and reaches conclusions the examiner states as professional opinions. Treating clinicians commonly send their own records into the exam file, and the report compares them with the exam findings in writing.
The record it produces is a claim document, not a chart. It enters the claim file, sits beside the treating records, and gets read by whoever evaluates the claim. Treating clinicians are not bound by it, their charts continue as they would have, and the person's regular care runs on its own. A page can describe these mechanics in general terms. What any specific exam or report means for a specific claim is a question for a licensed attorney in your state.
Why an IME comes up
An IME is one of the tools insurers use when a claim turns on medical questions and the file already has treating records to read. The exam adds a second professional opinion to the file, written for the claim rather than for care. State rules and the policy itself govern when a request is proper, how much notice is required, who can attend, and how the report must be handled. Those rules vary. If you need to ask once for everything the crash broke, the request is routing, not an evaluation of any exam request.
What an IME is not
An IME is not treatment. Nothing in this page is guidance about when or where to seek care, which stays between a person and a treating clinician. The exam is a documentation event, with a report as its product and the claim file as its destination. The site's one rule on the medical side holds here as everywhere: get seen because you are hurt, not for a claim.
Questions people actually ask
01Do I have to attend an independent medical examination?
The rules on when an insurer can require one and what happens if a request is refused are set by state law and by the policy itself. Those rules vary. What this page can say in general terms is that the paperwork which created the examination also records its scope and the response to it. What any specific request means for a specific claim is a question for a licensed attorney in your state.
02Who pays for the exam?
The insurer arranges the examination and pays the examining clinician for the report. The person being examined is not billed by the examiner for the appointment itself. The examination is a claim document, not treatment, and the paperwork reflects that from the first page. The report lands in the claim file, not the person's regular medical record.
03Is the report the same as a treating doctor's note?
No. A treating clinician writes charts in the ordinary course of care, for the next clinician who will see the patient. An examination report is written for the insurer that arranged it, with the claim as its audience. Both can land in the same claim file, and both carry dates and author names so later readers can tell which is which. What the comparison means in a specific claim is a question for a licensed attorney in your state.