In Colorado, sending a personal injury patient for an MRI is now part of the standard of care for plaintiff personal injury lawyers. This is so not only because of the usefulness of the findings but also due to the serious risk of potential liability facing both doctor and lawyer should a latent problem be discovered after the conclusion of the claim that would have been detected had an MRI been conducted.
It matters not whether the MRI discloses Injury. Either result provides essential information for both the claimant and his or her lawyer.
Value
If a claimant cannot demonstrate the injury in some objective way (by showing a disc injury, a meniscus or rotator cuff tear, etc.) he or she will be limited in the settlement negotiations with the claim adjuster or before the jury.
Further tests or studies/pecuniary loss issues
The MRI may disclose a condition that may require surgery (e.g., full thickness rotator cuff tears, meniscus tears, nerve root impingements, etc.), which could greatly affect future care or work loss issues. Further, the nature of the injury may require specialized physiotherapy or referral on to other specialists for assessment, which also may affect the value.
Benefits of a result showing no injury
Peace of mind, sound professional advice
A result that shows no injury is a good result for your patient in practically all cases (with the notable exception of brain injuries), as it means there will likely be no long-term effect of the injury for the claimant. The claimant expects his or her symptoms will eventually subside and that he or she will recover. Not only is this good for peace of mind, it is also very helpful with claimants’ financial expectations for the claim.
It is also very important information for the lawyer. Once your patients’ symptoms do subside, the lawyer will be in a better position to assess value (without waiting the typical two or more years to see if something develops) and have the confidence to advise the client to sign a release (which forever compromises your patients right to compensation for the injury).
Baseline
While most of your patients only get in one accident in their lifetime, there are some who are not as fortunate and are in two or more. It is not uncommon in such circumstances for the insurer to take the position that the injuries suffered in accident number two were in fact caused in accident number one, for which they have a release. However, if a claimant obtained an MRI for accident one he or she will have a snapshot of the area with which to compare the MRI results from accident two. This MRI information will curtail this type of defense and allow each accident to be property considered on its own merits.
Conclusion
For all of the above reasons, it is very important that your auto accident patients obtain MRIs.