Independent Medical Examinations (IME)/ Medical-Legal Assessments
Special care is needed in legal cases or in situations with significant potential for litigation. WCPS has worked with many insurance carriers, disability management agencies, unions, and law firms to provide assessments that can clarify a client’s situation. Staff at WCPS have conducted Independent Medical Examinations and medical-legal assessments in BC and throughout Canada to a wide variety of individuals, ranging from unskilled workers to professionals employed in sensitive environments. Cases might include long-term disability claims, personal injury lawsuits, and assessment of capacity to return to duty. We take care with the validity of our findings, and are willing to serve as expert witnesses in legal cases.
Referral questions vary by case, but often include:
- Diagnosis of mental health or cognitive disorders
- Determination of nature and degree of disability or impairment
- Etiology of injury, and causal relationship of diagnostic findings to a specific event or condition
- The impact of pre-existing and co-existing factors
- Consistency of findings with available documentation and self-report
- Recommendation for treatment or rehabilitation
- Ability to engage in employment or further education
- Restrictions and limitations to employment, and their expected duration.
- Need for accommodations or strategies to support return to work
- Need for further assessment from other disciplines