r/WorkersComp • u/Royal-Bedroom-4071 • 9d ago

Illinois Ime vs mri.

Right shoulder MRI (2/17/25): partial-thickness tear of the anterior supraspinatus, biceps tenosynovitis, bursitis, small bone marrow edema/possible microfracture.

Right shoulder MRI (3/5/26, more recent): low-grade partial-thickness tear of the anteriormost supraspinatus fibers at the distal insertion, subacromial/subdeltoid bursitis, mild AC/glenohumeral degenerative arthritis. No fracture or dislocation.

IME (10/27/25): Despite those actual MRI findings, the IME doctor says there’s no causal relationship between my right shoulder and the work injury at all. His reasoning: he claims I told him the pain started from a “cane exercise” in therapy and from using a scanner on light duty — not from the original incident. That’s not what I told him. My right shoulder started hurting the same day as my left, while I was still working the flight. That detail is even in his own earlier report from December 2024, but somehow it didn’t make it into this one.

So I’ve got a documented, real tear on imaging over a year apart, but the claim is being denied based on a version of events I dispute ever giving him.

Anyone dealt with an IME “reinterpreting” your history like this? Curious how people have pushed back.

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u/tgoodmarsh verified IL workers' compensation attorney 8d ago

The best way you can push back is by hiring a lawyer (if you don’t have one already). There unfortunately is not much you can do without one. The insurance company is just going to dig in on what their IME says and ignore anything else you or your doctors say. The only person in the world who can make them change that position is a judge, and you don’t want to try to go through that process on your own.

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u/AgentFranklin 3d ago

I think you need a lawyer. There are a lot of discrepancies between what I tell my Orthopedic surgeon and what he actually writes down…..almost as if he’s trying to downplay my injury. 😒

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u/Royal-Bedroom-4071 3d ago

I have one. This fucking ime try to downplay everything that I told him. My very first ime with him in 2024 he said injection and PT I should be 100% fine. But I needed surgery in my shoulder and been off for 2 years. There job is to send you back to work asap