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Medical Experts: Let a Medical Expert Witness Help with Your Case

doctor holding stethoscope

If you have suffered an injury or developed a medical condition as a result of another person’s actions, you may be legally entitled to financial compensation. As part of the process of filing your claim, a medical expert witness can provide an objective evaluation of your health and write up a professional report to be considered as evidence.

Arrowhead Evaluation Services provides a network of highly qualified QMEs, AMEs, and IMEs who are trained and experienced in medical legal consulting work and can provide you with evaluations and expert testimonies to substantiate your case. To view our experts, click here.

Reasons You May Need a Medical Expert Evaluation from a Medical Expert Witness

The laws surrounding medical liability are designed to protect you from physical and psychological harm and to ensure that anyone who injures you or allows you to be injured is made responsible for their actions. This may include reimbursing your medical costs, paying you for the psychological trauma suffered as a result of the incident, and providing you with a stipend to cover your time off work as a result of your injuries.

Different situations in which you may be injured or develop a medical condition are covered by different laws in California. For example, an injury or medical condition that results from unsafe work conditions can be filed under Workers’ Compensation laws. A problem that arises as a result of medical malpractice or negligence is covered under medical malpractice laws. Injuries sustained through civil or criminal behavior, such as assault, battery, elder abuse, and dog bites, are covered under accident and injury laws.

We will now explain some the factors to consider for each of these types of cases.

Workers’ Compensation

In California, worker’s compensation is handled by the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC). This body exists to deal with the administrative and judicial matters relating to an injury or illness that was caused at work. Claims first go through the administrative services provided by the DWC and pass to the judicial branch if there is a legal dispute relating to the claim. People involved in a workers’ compensation dispute can include:

  • The injured worker
  • The employer (including self-insured employers)
  • The claims administrator
  • An attorney
  • An expert witness
  • An interpreter (if required)

Arrowhead Evaluation Services has a number of qualified medical expert witness specialists that can help with an expert evaluation to substantiate your claim.

Medical Malpractice

If you feel you have been wronged by a medical provider, there are a few aspects of medical malpractice law in California of which you need to be aware before you begin the medical legal consulting process with a medical expert witness.

  • Statute of Limitations: The “statute of limitations” is the amount of time within which you must file a lawsuit after the incident has occurred. Usually, you must file a lawsuit within 12 months of the incident. The exception to this rule is the case of malpractice against children, in which case the guardians of the child have a longer time period to file.
  • Allocation of Fault: It is also important to be aware of the way in which fault is allocated when awarding damages. In California, fault and liability are divided among the parties, reducing damage awards proportionally to the percentage of fault allocated to the defendant.
  • The Importance of an Expert Witness: To give yourself the best chance for a just outcome, you will need to contract a medical expert witness. While a medical expert evaluation is not required in order to file a claim in California, a medical expert in the relevant field of specialization will be able to explain the standards of care that are expected from such a professional practicing in California.

This information is an essential resource for determining whether such standards were breached in your case. Our experienced specialists are experts in the standards of practice in California and can explain these standards in their written reports or in court if needed.

Assault and Battery

Outside of institutions such as workplaces and hospitals, injuries can also be sustained from crimes such as assault, battery, and sexual assault. In these cases, a prompt medical evaluation is imperative to determine the degree of damage. Once you receive treatment and your health improves, it will no longer be possible to assess the initial severity of the injuries.

Our medical expert witness team includes experts in psychology who can assess psychological damage suffered in addition to any physical injuries noted by the medical professional(s).

medical expert typing on laptop

The Role of a Professional Evaluation in Your Case

Depending on the nature of your claim or case, a medical expert witness may perform their job by evaluating you and writing a report, or they may need to appear in court personally.

Insurance Claims

For straightforward injury insurance claims, a medical expert evaluation may be required by the insurance company and used in the insurer’s decision to accept or deny your claim.

Taking Legal Action

If your case goes to court, the judge and jury will consider the type and degree of harm suffered, who was at fault in causing this harm, your future health prospects, and the cost of ongoing medical care for your injuries or health condition. To determine this information, an objective medical expert witness must evaluate your health and write a professional report. This report carries a great deal of weight in court and can often mean the difference between winning or losing the case.

Giving Yourself the Best Chance

The defendant (the insurance company, employer, or medical service) is likely to employ a medical expert witness to argue that the defendant is not at fault and/or try to minimize your injuries. This makes your investment in medical legal consulting all the more important. As in any confrontational sport, you need to be at least as strong as your opponent in order to win.

The Benefits of Hiring a Medical Expert Witness from Arrowhead

When you need a medical evaluation for legal purposes, the choice of the physician or specialist is critical. There are three different types of evaluations that may be required, depending on how you and your attorney or insurance company want to go about handling your case: These are QMEs, AMEs, and IMEs.

At Arrowhead, we have all three kinds of medical expert evaluation specialists in all of the main areas of medicine. As hand-selected member professionals, we can recommend their credentials and experience with the utmost confidence and provide the assurance of an unbiased, objective evaluation.

State Department Workers’ Comp Claims

For workers’ compensation cases in California, a certified QME physician (Qualified Medical Evaluation) will be required if your company chooses to go through the state system. Your attorney and claims administrator will be given a randomly-generated list of QMEs in your required specialization for medical legal consulting and can request another randomly-generated list if they are not satisfied with the options.

Private Compensation Claims

If your attorney and claims administrator don’t want to go through the state system of QME medical expert witness panels for worker’s compensation, you can all settle on a single AME physician (Agreed Medical Evaluation). You can only use an AME if you are being represented by an attorney and cannot request a QME after using an AME. At Arrowhead, we have QME and AME-certified physicians in the following specializations:

  • Medical doctors
  • Chiropractic doctors
  • Osteopathy doctors
  • Optometrists
  • Podiatrists
  • Psychologists

Independent Evaluations at the Insurer’s Request

In the event of a work or traffic-accident related injury where liability may be at stake, an insurance company can request an IME (Independent Medical Evaluation) by a medical expert witness to determine the extent of your injuries, whether any permanent injury remains after treatment, and whether or not the injury was in fact caused by the work or traffic accident-related incident. If the evaluation states that the injury was unrelated, the insurer can deny the claim and refuse to pay. The IME-accredited professionals in our medico-legal network include the following specializations:

Expert Witnesses

Further to QME, AME, and IME specialists, we also have a number of medical expert witness professionals who can write medico-legal reports and appear in court. Our network includes the following medical expert specializations:

The Benefits of Hiring a Medical Expert Witness from Arrowhead

When you need a medical evaluation for legal purposes, the choice of the physician or specialist is critical. There are three different types of evaluations that may be required, depending on how you and your attorney or insurance company want to go about handling your case: These are QMEs, AMEs, and IMEs.

Further to these medico-legal categories, we also have a number of medical expert witness professionals who can write medico-legal reports and appear in court. Our network includes the following medical expert specializations:

  • Addiction
  • Chiropractic
  • Neurology
  • Orthopedic

As hand-selected member professionals, we can recommend the credentials and experience of our medical expert evaluation professionals with the utmost of confidence. By choosing our member physicians, you are ensuring that you will receive an unbiased, objective evaluation.

Access our Extensive Network of Medico-Legal Specialists in Southern California

At Arrowhead Evaluation Services, we provide you the opportunity to partner with the best and reduce your administrative burden. We are here to make the medical legal consulting process as easy and simple as possible. The professionals in our extensive network understand the fine details of the applicable state and federal laws and can guide you as to the most suitable medical expert witness candidates for your case.

To book a medical expert evaluation, you can call us toll free at (888) 888-0098 or email us at info@arrowheadeval.com.

Arrowhead Evaluation Services
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