Physician expert witnesses are commonly asked to provide “copies of all articles, books, publications, guidelines, or other materials relied upon” in forming their opinions. This request may appear in a deposition notice, subpoena duces tecum, pre-IME stipulation, expert discovery request, or deposition questioning.
Physician experts often review hundreds or thousands of pages of medical records before issuing an independent medical evaluation, disability opinion, utilization review, causation analysis, or expert report. Those records may include emergency department notes, treating physician opinions, Physical Therapy records, imaging reports, operative reports, impairment ratings, and prior expert reports.
Thumb carpometacarpal osteoarthritis, also called first CMC osteoarthritis or base of thumb arthritis, is a common source of hand pain, pinch weakness, and functional limitation in older adults. It is frequently encountered in workers’ compensation evaluations, particularly among mechanics, laborers, technicians, trades workers, healthcare workers, and others who use their hands repetitively.
Lumbar spinal stenosis is a common degenerative spine condition and a frequent source of medical-legal dispute. The issue becomes particularly difficult when a claimant has a long pre-accident history of progressive back and leg pain, severe central canal and foraminal stenosis on imaging, prior epidural steroid injections, chronic opioid use, and then reports worsening symptoms after a rear-end motor vehicle collision. If the claimant later undergoes lumbar decompression or fusion, the causation question becomes more complex.
In an independent medical examination, examinees are often asked questions that may not seem directly related to the injured body part. A person being evaluated for arm pain may reasonably wonder why the examiner asks about education, marital status, job history, hobbies, tobacco use, or living situation.
