California Labor Codes 4062.2 374
§ Information to AME
(a) As part of their agreement on an evaluator, the parties shall agree what information is to be provided to the agreed medical evaluator. (b) Any party may provide to the qualified medical evaluator selected by an unrepresented worker from a three-member panel any of the following information: (1) Records prepared or maintained by the employee's treating physician or physicians. (2) Medical and nonmedical records relevant to determination of the medical issue. (c) Information which a party proposes to provide to the qualified medical evaluator selected by an unrepresented worker from a three-member panel shall be served on the opposing party 20 days before the information is provided to the evaluator. If the opposing party objects to consideration of nonmedical records within 10 days thereafter, the records shall not be provided to the evaluator. Either party may use discovery to establish the accuracy or authenticity of nonmedical records prior to the evaluation. (d) In any formal medical evaluation, the agreed or qualified medical evaluator shall identify the following: (1) All information received from the parties. (2) All information reviewed in preparation of the report. (3) All information relied upon in the formulation of his or her opinion. (e) All communications with an agreed medical evaluator or a qualified medical evaluator selected by an unrepresented worker from a three-member panel before a formal medical evaluation shall be in writing and shall be served on the opposing party 20 days in advance of the evaluation. Any subsequent communication with the medical evaluator shall be in writing and shall be served on the opposing party when sent to the medical evaluator. (f) Ex parte communication with an agreed medical evaluator or a qualified medical evaluator selected by an unrepresented worker from a three-member panel is prohibited. If a party communicates with the agreed medical evaluator or the qualified medical evaluator selected by an unrepresented worker from a three-member panel in violation of subdivision (d), the aggrieved party may elect to terminate the formal medical evaluation and seek a new evaluation from another qualified medical evaluator, or proceed with the initial evaluation. (g) The party making the communication prohibited by this section shall be subject to being charged with contempt before the appeals board and shall be liable for the costs incurred by the aggrieved party as a result of the prohibited communication, including the cost of the formal medical evaluation, additional discovery costs, and attorney's fees for related discovery. (h) This section shall not apply to oral communications by the employee or, if the employee is deceased, the employee's dependent, or to forms and documents requested by the evaluator or provided by the evaluator to the employee or, if the employee is deceased, the employee's dependent, pursuant to the examination. |
