Towards the end of your WorkCover Queensland statutory claim, Workcover will send you for an Independent Medical Examination. There are two reasons for the Independent Medical Examination.

• To determine if your injuries are stable and stationary
• To assess if you have suffered permanent impairment.

The examination is done by a specialist. WorkCover chooses the specialist.

Regular doctor vs Workcover’s independent examination doctor

Your regular doctor is there to treat you.

WorkCover’s doctor is hired by WorkCover. They do not treat you. In fact, there is no doctor-patient relationship between you. Nothing you say to them is confidential. Most of these doctors won’t even tell you what they think of your condition, because they only advise Workcover.

You might ask, are these doctors really independent? The answer is, they are independent in the sense that they don’t provide you treatment and formally they are not employed by WorkCover. However, WorkCover maintains a panel of doctors whom they commonly use in each area of specialty. (For example, if you suffered a disc bulge injury, you need an orthopaedic surgeon or a neurosurgeon.) This means that you can’t just say to WorkCover that you want your own treating specialist to perform the independent medical examination. WorkCover will choose someone from their own list. Naturally, these doctors commonly receive referrals from WorkCover to perform independent medical examinations.

What happens at the independent medical examination

WorkCover’s specialist will ask you questions about how your incident happened, about your current symptoms and limitations. This will be followed by an examination. A few things to remember here:

• If the doctor asks you do something (such as bend your knees, twist etc) – do it but don’t try to do more than what you are reasonably capable to. WorkCover’s doctor might encourage you to do more (“surely this doesn’t hurt yet…“). Be careful. If you are physically able to do what the doctor asks you to, but you are experiencing pain, make sure that you clearly report your pain.
• During the examination, be honest. Doctors can spot if you pretend that something hurts when it doesn’t.

The examination usually takes between 45 minutes to 90 minutes although this varies. Some examinations are very quick. After the physical examination the doctor will write a detailed report.

For our clients, we provide a written memo before the examination to outline in detail what to expect. This will ensure there are no surprises and that you get the most out of the examination and report.

Tips for the Independent Medical Examination

Each doctor and each examination is different, but here are a few things to consider before you go to the appointment:

• Arrive on time.
• Be honest. Doctors are experienced and they can tell if someone is dishonest. Plus, lying to a doctor can be an offence.  If WorkCover thinks that you have made misleading statements to the doctor, they will considering prosecuting you for fraud. They may do this when you are still in receipt of weekly wages, or they might do it later, for example during your common law damages claim. But this doesn’t mean you should downplay your symptoms or difficulties.
• If possible, take a support person with you. If you have a family member and you are happy for them to sit in during the examination, this can be useful. Let WorkCover know in advance that you intend to take someone with you. Ask WorkCover to inform the doctor that you will have a support person. Ask the support person to pay attention to the questions which you are asked, and to your answers.
• During the appointment the doctor will ask you questions, and they will also perform a physical examination. Try and remember how long the physical examination takes.
• After the appointment, ask WorkCover to give you a copy of the report. The doctor will send their report to WorkCover within 10 business days. You should insist on receiving the report as soon as WorkCover receives it. Read the report and if there are any factual inaccuracies, take a note of it and inform WorkCover. Keep a record of this communication.

25% cap on legal costs

In Queensland, most compensation firms will charge you 50% of your compensation amount – the maximum allowed at law. This is very expensive. Our fee is different. We will cap our fee at 25% .  Remember also, these are the maximum fees we will charge. If our fee in your claim is less, then we charge the lesser amount.

Before you engage us, we will provide you a written Disclosure Notice and a Client Service Agreement. These documents set out in detail the service we provide, as well as our fees and outlays. Before you sign anything, you can take these documents home with you, and study them with your family. You can take as long as you need, there is never any pressure from us. If anything in these documents doesn’t make sense to you, we can discuss it with you and you are free to ask another lawyer to give you advice.  And remember, no win – no fee agreements come with a 5 day cooling off period for extra peace of mind.