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Third Parties at Court-Ordered Psychological Evaluations

By Janice G. Inman
January 31, 2013

When a patient or his loved ones allege tortious conduct on the part of a healthcare provider, physical health questions must generally be answered. In addition, mental health may also be thrown into question when, for example, damages are sought for emotional distress. Thus, defendant medical providers may find it necessary to seek help from the courts to secure an unbiased psychological analysis of the plaintiff's condition. This can prompt anxiety all around, with litigants and their attorneys worrying that improper questions will be asked in the examination room, or that the examiner may be biased.

To guard against these problems, litigants may want their attorneys, or another third party, such as their own expert medical professional, to be present in the examination room. The opposing party and/or the examining doctor may object to this suggestion. What can litigants, their attorneys, and their medical examiners expect from the courts when conflicts over third-party presence during a court-ordered psychiatric examination arise?

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