Doctor Hired by Insurance Company to Perform Independent Medical Examination for Automobile Accident Case May Be Sued for Malpractice During Exam

An independent medical examiner hired by an insurance company to perform an examination on an auto accident victim may be sued if his examination causes further injury, according to the Supreme Court of Virginia in a case decided January 13, 2006.
A Newport News, VA, woman alleged that Jeffrey Scott Kreutzer, a clinical psychologist caused further injury to her when he conducted an examination to evaluate her claim that she suffered a brain injury in a 1991 automobile accident. The court ruled that a Newport News Judge improperly dismissed her claim that alleged that she was “verbally abused” and accused of being a “faker and malingerer” by Kreutzer.
“While this is the first time that this issue has been addressed in Virginia, every court that has addressed the issue has found that there is a duty of care owed by the health care provider in this situation. They are not immune from suit just because the examination is done in the context of litigation,” says Benjamin W. Glass, III, a Fairfax, Virginia medical malpractice and personal injury attorney. “While the claim of injury during an independent medical examination is rare, this is a commonsense rule which protects the claimant should further injury arise due to the doctor’s malpractice,” Glass said.
The court ruled that the doctor’s duty of care extends only to the examination itself, and that he cannot be sued if he fails to diagnose or treat a condition, nor may he be sued for what he says in his report or in his testimony.
The woman, Nancy J. Harris, recovered over $413, 000 in her automobile accident case. Her medical malpractice trial against Dr. Kreutzer will now be sent back to Newport News for trial.
Mr. Glass is a medical malpractice and personal injury attorney in Fairfax, VA.. The Supreme Court case is Harris v. Kreutzer, No. 050715.


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This release was published on openPR.