What Is a Michigan IME and How Does It Affect Your Case?

A Michigan IME, or independent medical examination, is a one-time evaluation by a doctor chosen and paid by an insurance company, employer, or defendant to assess an injury you’re claiming benefits or damages for. It is not treatment, and the examining physician is not your doctor. You are generally required to attend when one is properly requested, and the written report that follows often becomes the single most important piece of medical evidence in your case.

The rules that govern a Michigan IME, and what you can do about an unfavorable report, depend on which kind of claim brought you there.

When You Can Be Required to Attend

Three types of Michigan cases trigger IMEs, and the mechanics differ in each.

No-Fault Auto Insurance Claims

If you’re claiming personal injury protection benefits after a car accident, MCL 500.3151 requires you to submit to a mental or physical examination by a physician the insurer selects whenever your condition is relevant to the claim.¹ The statute uses “shall.” Refusing puts your PIP benefits at risk.

The law does limit who the insurer can pick. The examiner must be a licensed physician, must practice in the same specialty as your treating doctor, must hold the same board certification if your doctor is board certified, and must have spent most of the previous year in active clinical practice or medical school instruction in that specialty.¹ Neuropsychologists, occupational therapists, and nurses cannot perform no-fault IMEs. After the exam, the insurer must process your claim consistently with the examiner’s findings.

Workers’ Compensation Claims

Under MCL 418.385, your employer or its insurer can require a physical examination to evaluate the extent of your injury and your ability to return to work, and the employer bears the cost. The same statute gives you a right that doesn’t exist elsewhere in Michigan IME law: you can bring your own physician to the examination at your own expense, with no court order or employer permission required.² A doctor you trust in the room is a real-time check on the fairness of the exam.

Personal Injury Lawsuits

In litigation, the defense can’t just send you to a doctor. Under Michigan Court Rule 2.311, the defendant must file a motion and show good cause before a court will order you to attend. The order itself has to specify the time, place, manner, conditions, and scope of the examination, along with the examiner’s identity. A party can also ask that the order allow your attorney to attend, or that a mental examination be recorded by video or audio.³

Your Rights at the Exam

A few protections run across all three contexts, and a few are specific.

You’re entitled to reasonable notice of the time, place, scope, and identity of the examiner. In personal injury cases that information lives in the court order itself under MCR 2.311.³

You’re entitled to a copy of the report. Under MCL 600.1445(3), the examining physician must provide the findings to you or your attorney.⁴

Whether someone else can be in the room depends on the case. Workers’ comp is the strongest: the right to your own physician is statutory. In litigation, having your attorney present or recording a mental exam depends on the court granting the request as part of the order.³ If a recording is ordered, it has to be unobtrusive and capture both the examiner and the examinee throughout.

What the Appointment Looks Like

The physician usually reviews your medical records before you arrive. At the appointment, the doctor conducts a physical examination, asks about symptoms, reviews your history, and may look at imaging or test results. The focus is narrow: the nature and severity of your condition, whether it’s connected to the incident in question, and what limitations it creates.

Expect it to be shorter than a normal doctor’s visit. Many IMEs last 20 to 45 minutes, though complex or mental health evaluations can run longer. The brevity is one of the most common complaints people have afterward. Nothing therapeutic is happening in the room, and no ongoing relationship is forming.

Afterward, the physician writes a report and sends it to the party that requested the exam. Get your copy promptly through your attorney and read it carefully. The conclusions in that document will drive what happens next.

How the Report Can Affect Your Benefits or Claim

In a workers’ compensation case, an examiner’s conclusion that your injury has resolved or that you can return to work gives the insurer the medical basis to reduce or stop benefits. In a no-fault case, the insurer must process your claim consistently with the IME findings, so a report questioning the link between your condition and the crash can shut down future treatment or attendant care payments.¹

In personal injury litigation, the IME shapes settlement talks. Defense attorneys use favorable findings to argue that your injuries are less severe than claimed, that a pre-existing condition explains your symptoms, or that you’ve reached maximum medical improvement. Plaintiff’s attorneys look for cracks: inconsistencies with the medical record, unsupported conclusions, or signs the examiner spent too little time to form a reliable opinion.

Pushing Back on an Unfavorable Report

A bad report is not the end of the claim. Several lines of attack are available.

Start with qualifications. In a no-fault case, if the physician doesn’t match your treating doctor’s specialty and board certification, or hasn’t been in active clinical practice or medical instruction for most of the prior year, the report may be disqualified entirely under MCL 500.3151(2).¹

Financial bias is the next layer. Your attorney can subpoena records from IME vendor companies showing how many examinations the doctor performs, how much of their income comes from insurer referrals, and how often their conclusions favor the paying side. Appointment calendars and 1099 forms issued by vendor services are generally discoverable, though courts are reluctant to order disclosure of a physician’s personal tax returns.

Depositions and cross-examination are where many IME reports fall apart. Questioning the examiner on how long the exam lasted, which tests were actually performed, whether the full medical record was reviewed, and whether the conclusions line up with peer-reviewed literature can expose a thin opinion. A single short appointment often doesn’t hold up against months or years of treatment notes from a doctor who has actually been caring for you.

Your treating physician can also prepare a rebuttal report that addresses the IME point by point.

If You Don’t Show Up

Skipping an IME, or showing up and refusing to cooperate, carries serious consequences, and they vary by context.

In a no-fault case, MCL 500.3151 makes attendance mandatory, and refusal gives the insurer grounds to suspend or deny PIP benefits.¹ In workers’ comp, missing the exam can trigger a suspension of benefits and hurt your credibility with the Workers’ Compensation Board, especially since the employer is already required to pay for the exam and reimburse reasonable travel expenses under MCL 418.385.² In personal injury litigation, refusal is defiance of a court order under MCR 2.311, and the court can sanction you, strike your medical evidence, or dismiss your claims outright.³ Dismissal is not recoverable.

If you have a legitimate objection to a particular examiner or a scheduled date, such as the physician failing the statutory qualifications or the location being unreasonably far, raise it through your attorney before the appointment. A written objection or motion in advance is far more effective than failing to appear.

Who Pays

The party that requested the IME pays for it. In workers’ comp, MCL 418.385 explicitly requires the employer to cover the exam and reimburse reasonable travel expenses.² In no-fault and personal injury cases, the insurer or defendant pays the examining doctor directly. You should not see a bill for the exam itself. Incidental costs like lost wages are generally yours unless your attorney negotiates otherwise. If you’re driving a long way, keep a mileage log; the IRS medical mileage rate for 2026 is 20.5 cents per mile and provides a benchmark for any reimbursement discussion.⁵

1
Michigan Legislature. MCL 500.3151
2
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 418.385 – Physical Examination of Employee
3
Michigan Courts. Michigan Court Rule 2.311 – Physical and Mental Examination of Persons
4
Michigan Courts. Medical Examinations
5
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Sets 2026 Business Standard Mileage Rate at 72.5 Cents Per Mile