What you need to prepare beforehand
You’ve probably waited awhile to finally see your Qualified Medical Examiner (QME). You’re ready to move forward and get that much-needed medical-legal evaluation for your workers comp claim. The appointment is set. Now what?
Well, there’s quite a bit you can do before your appointment to ensure you get the most out of the evaluation. First, it’s important to fully understand the extent of your injuries. Make a list of every body part affected by your injury, including anything that has been affected since the injury. Include side effects in this list as well. Stomach aches, sleep loss, anxiety, and depression are all side effects that could be related to your injury. If you’ve experienced any of these, make sure they are included in your list.
Once your list is complete, go back through and write how each body part and/or side effect has been bothered by your work injury. An example might be a knee injury. Does your knee hurt all the time? Does your knee only hurt when you move a certain way? Does this injury affect your daily living? On a scale of 1-10, what is your level of pain? What makes it worse?
Additionally, you should go over your notes and review the timeline of what happened between your accident and evaluation.
While this information may seem excessive, it’s critical to have it readily available for your appointment. It will show you’re serious about your injury and recovery and it will pinpoint exactly how your injury is affecting your work, personal, and social life.
If you have two different problems from the same injury (for example, psychiatric and orthopedic), this information will help your QME determine if there is a need for more input from another medical specialty.
The more you can prepare and the more information you can provide, the better. This appointment determines your next steps and the future of your workers’ compensation claim. If you have questions about your upcoming QME appointment, please contact our experienced workers’ compensation lawyers. We know what QMEs are looking for and how to get the most out of your evaluation. In our next blog, we’ll tell you all about what to expect at your QME appointment.
