For Health Professionals

There is no rule or regulation limiting the amount that health professionals can charge for providing the Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) with an independent medical examination (IME) report in motor vehicle injury disputes.

However, section 5(1)(a) of the Accident Claims Regulation does set a $2,000 limit on the amount that a party can recover for the expense of obtaining an IME.

When a CRT member decides that an IME is required for an injured party in a dispute, the CRT will contact a health professional on the IHP roster who appears to have the appropriate expertise. The CRT will provide the health professional with terms of reference for the IME, including:

• the available information about the party’s injuries,
• a statement of any facts and assumptions the health professional should rely upon,
• the questions that the CRT requires be answered in the IME report, and
• the proposed fee for completing the IME and providing the report.

The health professional will then have an opportunity to:

1. Advise the CRT whether they are prepared to complete the IME report,
2. Confirm there is no conflict of interest with the injured party, and
3. Confirm whether they are prepared to provide the IME for the amount proposed, or indicate the amount they require to provide the IME according to the terms of reference.

The party who requested the IME is required to pay for it, unless the CRT orders otherwise. As that party will not be able to recover more than $2,000, the CRT will try to keep the costs of the reports within that limit.

The CRT’s can determine entitlement to accident benefits for accidents on or after April 1, 2019. For accidents that happened before May 1, 2021, the CRT can also resolve disputes about liability and damages up to $50,000, and also determine whether an injury meets the definition of “minor injury” in the Insurance (Vehicle) Act.

Based on that jurisdiction, the work required to prepare an IME for those claims may be proportionately less than that required to prepare expert reports for the courts.

The CRT anticipates that, for many of the IMEs it orders, a file review by the health professional will be adequate. However, the CRT can’t confirm those assumptions until it receives more disputes and refers some of them for an IME.

The CRT also recognizes that there will be circumstances where it is not possible to obtain an IME report for less than $2,000, due to the time needed to examine the injured party, review the records and prepare the report, together with the nature of expertise required.