In many personal injury or disability cases, the Insurance Company will request that you attend a medical exam with their doctor. This is not a doctor that treats you or has a doctor-patient relationship with you. Instead, this is a one time exam. The exam is for their doctor writing a report on the cause and/or severity of your symptoms and injuries.
By bringing a claim involving injuries, most state laws say that you have put your medical condition into question and the insurance company is entitled to an exam sought in good faith. If you believe that the exam is not sought in good faith, or is unnecessary, check with a lawyer. It is uncommon, but there may be reasons that a Court would order that you do not have to attend. In most cases, though, you will be required to go.
You should first understand that if you have a filed case, and this is a request from the insurance company opposing you, they are not on your side. They will be selecting a doctor that they believe will have their best interests, not yours. The doctor often has an ongoing relationship with that insurance company to do these exams. There may be an unwritten understanding that he/she will be favorable to them in order to keep getting their business- basically, the doctor has a financial interest in helping the insurance company win.
However, you need to be truthful. Expect to be asked about your previous medical history. The doctor will likely have you medical chart and is waiting to see if you will deny that previous injury that you had. Don't do that. Be honest. Also, do not exaggerate your pain or symptoms during the exam. These doctors are trained to detect symptom exaggeration and are hoping to find it so that they can put that in the report to discredit you.
Another important tip is to bring someone with you to the insurance medical exam. Under most state laws, you are permitted to bring someone. For example, in Pennsylvania, Rule of Civil Procedure 4010 allows that. The reason you want someone with you is they can be a witness later. This helps keep the doctor more honest. It helps prevent a situation where the doctor may put something in their report that is not accurate and it's your word against the doctor's. In most states, you are not required to fill out questionnaires for the insurance doctor. If you are unsure, check with a lawyer to find out.
You may end up needing to get a report from one of your treating doctors to rebut the insurance doctor.
