Minnesota workers' comp glossary
IME (Independent Medical Examination)
A medical exam by a doctor the insurer selects and pays, authorized by Minn. Stat. § 176.155; its report is the most common basis for discontinuing benefits or denying treatment.
An IME is an "independent" medical examination; in practice, it is the insurance company’s medical evaluation of your claim. Minn. Stat. § 176.155 lets the employer/insurer have you examined by a doctor of its choosing, at its expense, at reasonable times and places. You are entitled to notice and travel reimbursement, and unreasonably refusing to attend can suspend your benefits.
Insurers rarely buy an IME for a claim they intend to keep quietly paying. The report typically arrives shortly before a NOID (to stop wage-loss benefits), a treatment denial, or a settlement posture change. The usual opinions: you have reached maximum medical improvement, you can work without restrictions, the recommended surgery is not reasonable and necessary, or your condition is degenerative rather than work-related.
The counterweight is your treating doctor’s written opinion. A compensation judge weighs both; a brief one-time exam does not automatically beat months of treatment records, but only if your doctor’s opinions on restrictions, causation, and treatment are actually documented.
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General information, not legal advice. Reviewed by Daniel C. Swenson, Minnesota workers' compensation attorney, Robert Wilson & Associates.