Maine Workers’ Compensation Board Approves New § 312 Candidates

In a unanimous vote, the Maine Workers’ Compensation Board recently approved Dr. Benjamin Branch, a physiatrist, and Dr. Howard Glass, a cardiologist, as independent medical examiners (IMEs) pursuant to 39-A M.R.S.A. §312 of the Maine Workers’ Compensation Act. 

Section 312 IMEs render medical findings on the medical condition of an employee and related issues. The IME in a case may not be the employee’s treating healthcare provider and may not have treated the employee with respect to the injury for which the claim is being made or for which the benefits are being paid. Unless agreed upon by the parties, or no other physician is reasonably available, a physician is not eligible to be assigned as an IME if the physician has examined the employee at the request of an insurance company, employer, or employee in accordance with section 207 (an employer/insurer-requested medical examination) or has been closely affiliated with the insurance company at any time during the previous 52 weeks. 

The opinions of IMEs are afforded great weight. Under the Maine Workers Compensation Act, “[t]he board shall adopt the medical findings of the [IME] unless there is clear and convincing evidence to the contrary in the record that does not support the medical findings.” The Maine Supreme Court has interpreted the “clear and convincing evidence to the contrary” standard to require a showing “that it is highly probable that the record did not support the [IME’s] findings.” Dubois v. Madison Paper, Co., 2002 ME 1. The Court in Dubois described the standard as follows:

The party with the burden of persuasion may prevail only if he can place in the ultimate factfinder an abiding conviction that the truth of his factual contentions are highly probable.

Id. at ¶ 10 (citations and internal quotations omitted).

The Board maintains a list of approved examiners, which, at the present time, includes the following specialties: chiropractic, internal medicine, family medicine, orthopedics, osteopathy, physiatry, podiatry, psychology, psychiatry, neurology, and pulmonology.