June 7, 2022 • 10 mins
Palm Beach County Justice Board Member Scott Dalton interviews fellow board member Jeff Adelman about how to prepare a client for their Defense/Compulsory Medical Examination (DME/CME). For more information about the PBCJA, go to www.pbcja.org . For a free copy of Jeff's book "Choosing the Right Lawyer is No Accident," email Jeff directly with your address or view it online at www.accidentattorneybook.com
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Episode Transcript
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(00:04):
Hello, everyone, it's Scott Daltonhere. I have the pleasure of having
Jeff Aidelman from Brotman, Nusbaum,Ibraham and Adelman, a board certified civil
litigation attorney, and today we're goingto talk about something that I think is
a really important topic, the fivekeys to your client's compulsory medical examination and
the dues and don'ts. Jeff,Thanks for being here today. Always a
(00:27):
pleasure, Scott, good to seeyou. Well. The first thing I
wanted to get into that I thinkis most important is the preparation of your
client for a CEMME. Jeff,tell us a little bit about one of
the keys that you like to dobefore your client CEEME and preparing your client
well, much like you should bepreparing your client for a deposition and going
(00:49):
through all the different questions that couldbe asked, You've got to prepare your
clients for the defense medical examination.You've got to go through the medical record
with them, if you have amedical chronology, go through some of that,
go through their answers to interrogatories thatyou've already gone over with them for
(01:11):
the purposes of the written discovery,and to prepare them for their depositions and
you really just want to make surethat they understand that this is not like
a medical examination they've never gone throughbefore. Doctor's not going to tell them
what's going to make them feel betteror anything like that. They are there
to poke holes in their case.So you have to tell them be polite,
(01:34):
but don't be intimidated by the factthat this person has a white coat
on and they're examining you, becauseyou know what the purpose is. Great.
Yeah, I think one of thethings that I've always remembered is how
quick the process is in attending myclient's compulsory medical examinations. They may see
their doctor for months upon years andsee a compulsory medical doctor for ten minutes.
(01:59):
So I think that like preparing themfor the process so they're not in
the dark, is absolutely key.The next thing Jeff I wanted to ask
you was a little bit about yourrecommendations on the day of Should they arrive
early, what should they wear?What type of paperwork are they going to
be filling out before they start?Oh, there's there there's three questions there.
The first thing is they should arriveprobably about fifteen minutes before. And
(02:23):
what I always tell them is youdo not go in the exam room without
the videographer. So it's very importantto videotape these examples. Excuse me,
video record these examinations used to bea tape, and you want to make
sure that they know not to goin. In terms of what they should
(02:43):
wear, you know, you don'twant to wear a T shirt and cut
up shorts or anything like that.Wear something almost like when you're going to
the deposition. Maybe not quite ascasual, quite as up as that,
but I mean you want to becomfortable, but you don't want to look
like you just rolled out of bed. And then the last thing you had,
(03:06):
what was the last question you askedme about Scott? The paperwork to
expect the data, Well, nobodyshould be having their clients fill out any
paperwork at a defense medical examination.In fact, you should have filed an
objection setting the parameters of these defensemedical examinations, and one of the things
(03:27):
in there should be client is notgoing to fill out any paperwork. The
only thing that you should permit isallowing them to show an ID and maybe
just to sign in that they werethere. But that's it. The doctors
have all the medical records. Whydo you need to have them fill out
anything while they're there. You shouldn'tallow it at all. Okay, great.
(03:53):
Next question I had Jeff was alittle bit about what to tell the
doctor as far as prior similar injuriesand then any dates, medical opinions,
diagnosis, or doctor's names. Howshould they be when talking to the doctor
and answering those questions. You wantto be honest, and you want to
tell them about any priors that you'vehad because you have to assume that they're
(04:14):
going to find it anyway. Ialways tell my clients the dates don't matter
that much, but the fact thatyou actually went and got treatment, you
had another car accident, that's somethingthat you need to disclose, even if
it's you know, I had anaccident fifteen years ago in Cook County,
Illinois. I don't remember all thedetails, but I remember I had an
(04:38):
accident. Then at least you're givingsomething as opposed to no, I didn't
have anything better to at least givethem something that they can go get it,
rather than saying it doesn't exist atall, because then it makes you
look like a liar, and that'snot what we want. Okay. I
think that that's you know, critically, important. As I said, the
(05:01):
dates are not so important, butthe fact that something happened. If you
have a doubt, disclose it becauseif you don't, they make a mountain
out of a molehill. So,as the expression goes, I think that's
really important, right, And Ithink that goes back to the preparation of
your client having all the medical recordsand knowing about their prior as well before
(05:24):
a compulsory medical examination. So okay, next question, Jef I wanted to
talk to you about, was isit imperative that the lawyer attends the CMME
or is a videographer and a videotapegood enough? You know, I think
that's a preference for the attorney.I personally just send a videographer. I
(05:45):
have gone before in certain cases whereI felt like the client really needed it.
But quite frankly, I think sometimesit can be a little bit of
a distraction to have you there.You don't want to be interfering with the
exam or accused of interfering in theexamination. What I always tell my clients
(06:05):
is the videographer is there. Youhave my phone number. If there is
anything that you're uncomfortable with, youcall put me on speaker phone and let
me listen in. I don't thinkit's necessarily vital for you to be there.
I do think though, if youaren't going to be there, you
(06:26):
got to have a you know,a competent videographer. My videographer will actually
call me after the examinations and giveme his opinion about how the client did,
how the doctor was. I genuinelyappreciate that because it's somebody I trust.
But that's, you know, somethingthat's really a personal preference. But
(06:46):
the thing about is when you video, when you video the exam, that's
all attorney client. That's work product. So the defense never gets that it's
just for you. In addition tothat, let's you evaluate your own client
to see how they hold up withthe doctor, and it's just another thing
you can evaluate yourself whether or notthis is somebody who is capable of succeeding
(07:15):
in a trial. Yeah. Ithink that's a really good point on the
work product, JEF. I knowa lot of attorneys maybe don't know that
the videographer or the videotape is actuallya work product of the plaintiff's attorney.
So well, thank you. Thelast question I've got for you, Jeff,
is the post exam to do list? What are some of the things
that we as attorneys and our clientsshould be thinking about to do after the
(07:38):
exam is over. Well, Ilike to treat everything. Everything is going
to go to trial. So Ialways ask my clients to please shoot me
an email, a text, callme, let me know how it went,
what they thought was normal for theexamination, what they thought might have
been a little weird, how theyfelt the examination. And I just had
(08:00):
a client last week tell me that, yeah, the doctor barely touched me
when he was you know, becausethey always say, oh they palpate,
they patient and there was no reaction. Well, again, that's another thing
a video might be able to show. But she told me that. So
when it comes to taking a crossexamination, whether it be a trial or
(08:22):
if you take the deposition before trial, that's just yet another thing that you
can hone in on. The moreinformation you have, the better. But
I think it's really really important tohave your client be comfortable, which is
really the point of all this.Anyway, they're intimidated by going to see
(08:43):
a doctor. You want to empowerthem, You want them to not have
that fear, be respectful, butdon't be intimidated. And that's why again,
that's why I give this to allmy clients because I say it a
hundred times, but sometimes when theyread it afterwards, it kind of locks
it in. And Jeff, justto finish up, why don't you give
(09:03):
us that book? It's Choosing theRight Lawyer is no Accident accident dot com.
Yes, Accident attorneybook dot com.You can look at it for free.
If you'd like a hard copy,all you have to do is email
me at Jeff at lawbni dot com. I'm happy to send you one.
(09:26):
It's available on Amazon as well,but it's really there so I can publish
as many as I can. I'mnot doing that for a profit. I'm
willing to help anybody who wants toget better at this, wants to improve
their cases, improve themselves. Isa litigation attorney, and I have found
that the steps that I put inthere what I generally tell every single client.
(09:48):
So I figured why not have itdown there and help my clients out
and I help other clients other people'sclients as well. Great. Yeah,
through before this meeting and I thoughtit was terrific, Jeff, So thanks
for right. Thank you all right. Well, that's all the questions I
had for you today, Jeff,I really appreciate you taking the time to
(10:09):
speak with all of us about CMEs. If there's nothing else you'd like to
add, then I guess we cango ahead and end. Well, I'm
looking forward to making this a regularthing, And if you want more information
about the PBCJA, just go toPBCJA dot org. They're revamping the entire
website, so you'll be very impressedif you haven't been there in a while.
(10:30):
So well, thank you very much, Scott, be well, everybody.
Thanks everyone,
Hello, everyone, it's Scott Daltonhere. I have the pleasure of having
Jeff Aidelman from Brotman, Nusbaum,Ibraham and Adelman, a board certified civil
litigation attorney, and today we're goingto talk about something that I think is
a really important topic, the fivekeys to your client's compulsory medical examination and
the dues and don'ts. Jeff,Thanks for being here today. Always a
(00:27):
pleasure, Scott, good to seeyou. Well. The first thing I
wanted to get into that I thinkis most important is the preparation of your
client for a CEMME. Jeff,tell us a little bit about one of
the keys that you like to dobefore your client CEEME and preparing your client
well, much like you should bepreparing your client for a deposition and going
(00:49):
through all the different questions that couldbe asked, You've got to prepare your
clients for the defense medical examination.You've got to go through the medical record
with them, if you have amedical chronology, go through some of that,
go through their answers to interrogatories thatyou've already gone over with them for
(01:11):
the purposes of the written discovery,and to prepare them for their depositions and
you really just want to make surethat they understand that this is not like
a medical examination they've never gone throughbefore. Doctor's not going to tell them
what's going to make them feel betteror anything like that. They are there
to poke holes in their case.So you have to tell them be polite,
(01:34):
but don't be intimidated by the factthat this person has a white coat
on and they're examining you, becauseyou know what the purpose is. Great.
Yeah, I think one of thethings that I've always remembered is how
quick the process is in attending myclient's compulsory medical examinations. They may see
their doctor for months upon years andsee a compulsory medical doctor for ten minutes.
(01:59):
So I think that like preparing themfor the process so they're not in
the dark, is absolutely key.The next thing Jeff I wanted to ask
you was a little bit about yourrecommendations on the day of Should they arrive
early, what should they wear?What type of paperwork are they going to
be filling out before they start?Oh, there's there there's three questions there.
The first thing is they should arriveprobably about fifteen minutes before. And
(02:23):
what I always tell them is youdo not go in the exam room without
the videographer. So it's very importantto videotape these examples. Excuse me,
video record these examinations used to bea tape, and you want to make
sure that they know not to goin. In terms of what they should
(02:43):
wear, you know, you don'twant to wear a T shirt and cut
up shorts or anything like that.Wear something almost like when you're going to
the deposition. Maybe not quite ascasual, quite as up as that,
but I mean you want to becomfortable, but you don't want to look
like you just rolled out of bed. And then the last thing you had,
(03:06):
what was the last question you askedme about Scott? The paperwork to
expect the data, Well, nobodyshould be having their clients fill out any
paperwork at a defense medical examination.In fact, you should have filed an
objection setting the parameters of these defensemedical examinations, and one of the things
(03:27):
in there should be client is notgoing to fill out any paperwork. The
only thing that you should permit isallowing them to show an ID and maybe
just to sign in that they werethere. But that's it. The doctors
have all the medical records. Whydo you need to have them fill out
anything while they're there. You shouldn'tallow it at all. Okay, great.
(03:53):
Next question I had Jeff was alittle bit about what to tell the
doctor as far as prior similar injuriesand then any dates, medical opinions,
diagnosis, or doctor's names. Howshould they be when talking to the doctor
and answering those questions. You wantto be honest, and you want to
tell them about any priors that you'vehad because you have to assume that they're
(04:14):
going to find it anyway. Ialways tell my clients the dates don't matter
that much, but the fact thatyou actually went and got treatment, you
had another car accident, that's somethingthat you need to disclose, even if
it's you know, I had anaccident fifteen years ago in Cook County,
Illinois. I don't remember all thedetails, but I remember I had an
(04:38):
accident. Then at least you're givingsomething as opposed to no, I didn't
have anything better to at least givethem something that they can go get it,
rather than saying it doesn't exist atall, because then it makes you
look like a liar, and that'snot what we want. Okay. I
think that that's you know, critically, important. As I said, the
(05:01):
dates are not so important, butthe fact that something happened. If you
have a doubt, disclose it becauseif you don't, they make a mountain
out of a molehill. So,as the expression goes, I think that's
really important, right, And Ithink that goes back to the preparation of
your client having all the medical recordsand knowing about their prior as well before
(05:24):
a compulsory medical examination. So okay, next question, Jef I wanted to
talk to you about, was isit imperative that the lawyer attends the CMME
or is a videographer and a videotapegood enough? You know, I think
that's a preference for the attorney.I personally just send a videographer. I
(05:45):
have gone before in certain cases whereI felt like the client really needed it.
But quite frankly, I think sometimesit can be a little bit of
a distraction to have you there.You don't want to be interfering with the
exam or accused of interfering in theexamination. What I always tell my clients
(06:05):
is the videographer is there. Youhave my phone number. If there is
anything that you're uncomfortable with, youcall put me on speaker phone and let
me listen in. I don't thinkit's necessarily vital for you to be there.
I do think though, if youaren't going to be there, you
(06:26):
got to have a you know,a competent videographer. My videographer will actually
call me after the examinations and giveme his opinion about how the client did,
how the doctor was. I genuinelyappreciate that because it's somebody I trust.
But that's, you know, somethingthat's really a personal preference. But
(06:46):
the thing about is when you video, when you video the exam, that's
all attorney client. That's work product. So the defense never gets that it's
just for you. In addition tothat, let's you evaluate your own client
to see how they hold up withthe doctor, and it's just another thing
you can evaluate yourself whether or notthis is somebody who is capable of succeeding
(07:15):
in a trial. Yeah. Ithink that's a really good point on the
work product, JEF. I knowa lot of attorneys maybe don't know that
the videographer or the videotape is actuallya work product of the plaintiff's attorney.
So well, thank you. Thelast question I've got for you, Jeff,
is the post exam to do list? What are some of the things
that we as attorneys and our clientsshould be thinking about to do after the
(07:38):
exam is over. Well, Ilike to treat everything. Everything is going
to go to trial. So Ialways ask my clients to please shoot me
an email, a text, callme, let me know how it went,
what they thought was normal for theexamination, what they thought might have
been a little weird, how theyfelt the examination. And I just had
(08:00):
a client last week tell me that, yeah, the doctor barely touched me
when he was you know, becausethey always say, oh they palpate,
they patient and there was no reaction. Well, again, that's another thing
a video might be able to show. But she told me that. So
when it comes to taking a crossexamination, whether it be a trial or
(08:22):
if you take the deposition before trial, that's just yet another thing that you
can hone in on. The moreinformation you have, the better. But
I think it's really really important tohave your client be comfortable, which is
really the point of all this.Anyway, they're intimidated by going to see
(08:43):
a doctor. You want to empowerthem, You want them to not have
that fear, be respectful, butdon't be intimidated. And that's why again,
that's why I give this to allmy clients because I say it a
hundred times, but sometimes when theyread it afterwards, it kind of locks
it in. And Jeff, justto finish up, why don't you give
(09:03):
us that book? It's Choosing theRight Lawyer is no Accident accident dot com.
Yes, Accident attorneybook dot com.You can look at it for free.
If you'd like a hard copy,all you have to do is email
me at Jeff at lawbni dot com. I'm happy to send you one.
(09:26):
It's available on Amazon as well,but it's really there so I can publish
as many as I can. I'mnot doing that for a profit. I'm
willing to help anybody who wants toget better at this, wants to improve
their cases, improve themselves. Isa litigation attorney, and I have found
that the steps that I put inthere what I generally tell every single client.
(09:48):
So I figured why not have itdown there and help my clients out
and I help other clients other people'sclients as well. Great. Yeah,
through before this meeting and I thoughtit was terrific, Jeff, So thanks
for right. Thank you all right. Well, that's all the questions I
had for you today, Jeff,I really appreciate you taking the time to
(10:09):
speak with all of us about CMEs. If there's nothing else you'd like to
add, then I guess we cango ahead and end. Well, I'm
looking forward to making this a regularthing, And if you want more information
about the PBCJA, just go toPBCJA dot org. They're revamping the entire
website, so you'll be very impressedif you haven't been there in a while.
(10:30):
So well, thank you very much, Scott, be well, everybody.
Thanks everyone,
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