Today's Realization

So today I attended my first Defense Medical Examination. I was doing it as a contract, but on a case that I have worked on before, so I know a little about it.

As I sat there with my tape recorder (or as they are now called, Digital Audio Recorder) the doctor conducting the exam kept complaining about my not letting the plaintiff answer some of his questions. He was trying to take a complete medical history, which is not permitted since what he is really there for is to examine the plaintiff for the injuries suffered in the accident which is the basis for the case.

At one point the doctor snarled at me, "I don't try and tell you the scope of the law, I can't see how you can tell me the scope of examing a patient."

And for a moment, I felt a little bad. Then I remembered. This guy is not there to give treatment to the client. He was there for one reason, to find any reason why the client should not get the compensation that they deserve.

And then, I didn't feel the least bit bad about telling him that he could not ask these questions and that the client would not answer them.