A new bill would change the way that industrial insurance medical exams are conducted for the purpose of verifying workers’ compensation claims, possibly impacting the ability of employers and the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) to verifying claims.

HB 1763, sponsored by Rep. Dan Bronoske (D–Lakewood), allows employees undergoing independent medical exams (IMEs) to take audio or visual recordings of their exams. It also permits the employee to bring a third-party observer to an exam. The bill requires that recording equipment or the third-party observer not obstruct the exam and disqualifies the worker’s own legal representative as a possible observer, but otherwise allows the employee to bring any person of their choice who is over age 18 as an observer. It also requires the employee to share recordings of the exam with L&I or a self-insured employer within 14 days of receiving a request for the recording.

AWC opposes HB 1763 because of its potential impact on the availability of independent medical examiners and the neutrality of examinations. AWC opposed a similar measure during the 2021 session that failed to pass out of the Senate last year. AWC is concerned that allowing recording of IMEs will drive providers away for fear of malpractice liability, making it more difficult to get objective medical assessments in a timely fashion. We are also concerned that recording IMEs or allowing observers could result in biased exams as providers look to tell examinees or observers what they want to hear, eliminating the exam’s independence. Finally, a legislative work group on IMEs rejected the idea of recording exams in December 2020 because not enough was known about how many providers would stop offering IMEs if they were recorded.

Dates to remember

HB 1763 is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee on January 14 at 8 am.