“Did the accident (or exposure) cause the condition?” is usually the crux of most IME reports. We expect the expert to answer “yes” or “no” and explain why and how she came to that conclusion. The worst answer is some variation of “I’m not sure.” This is enormously frustrating. The person asking the question rightfully expects to receive a definitive answer and “I’m not sure” is tantamount to no opinion. As a practical matter, “I’m not sure” functions only marginally better than having no report at all.
We have all seen variations of “I’m not sure” in IME reports. But what can be done to avoid it? A carefully worded cover letter specifically explaining the standard that the writer is asking the expert to meet can help. One simple way to explain the expectations for answering basic causation questions is through a coin flip analogy. Every physician understands that a coin flip is a 50/50 proposition, meaning that whenever a coin is flipped the likelihood that it will come up heads is exactly equal to the likelihood that it will come up tails. It is easy to explain that you are asking the expert to determine whether the likelihood that the accident (or exposure) caused the condition is greater than a coin flip based on the available information. If so, then the causation question should be answered “yes.” If the likelihood that the accident (or exposure) caused the condition complained of is equal to or less than a coin flip, then the causation question should be answered “no.” The vast majority of experts will understand this analogy and it often helps prevent them from equivocating on causation.
Experts also are prone to conflating medical diagnostic impression and causation in an IME report. The diagnostic impression as reflected in chart notes is often blurry and by necessity uncertain. This is why chart notes frequently reflect more than one diagnostic impression. For example, a person who presents with carpal tunnel-like symptoms my carry a differential diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome versus cervical spine nerve root impingement versus shoulder impingement. The doctor will keep the competing diagnoses in the chart until tests are performed to rule out (or confirm) causes. It would be unwise to establish a definitive diagnosis in the clinical setting if there is not definitive medical evidence supporting one diagnosis over the others, even if the doctor believes, based on the available evidence, that one diagnosis may be more likely than the others.
This is the precise issue that experts performing IMEs must overcome. Again, the cover letter can help them. An effective way to help doctors move away from the medical diagnostic impression model is to explain to them that answering the causation question ‘yes’ or ‘no’ neither precludes the accident (or exposure) as a cause nor fixes the expert’s opinion for all of time. Definitively answering the question is the equivalent of stating that based on the available information, it is more likely than not that the accident (or exposure) did not cause the condition. This opinion does not preclude other causes or state that is 100% certain with respect to the cause of the condition. The opinion also does not lock the expert into her opinion in the future. The opinion is based on information available at the time the opinion was rendered. If additional information becomes available in the future, the expert should be assured that it is permissible and expected that her opinion will conform to the new information, even if that means her opinion on causation does a 180° flip. Explicitly explaining the nature of the opinion expected, its limited effect, and the possibility of changing it in light of new information will help the expert be more comfortable with stating a definitive opinion on causation.
Taking these steps in the cover letter can go a long way toward eliminating ambiguous, vague, or equivocal opinions on causation in IME reports. We don’t expect perfection out of our experts, but we do expect that they will provide clear answers to the questions that we ask them. Helping the expert understand exactly what those expectations mean will help her fulfill them.
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