(a)After disablement and during the period
of claimed resulting disability or impairment, the employee, if so
requested by the employee's employer or ordered by the worker's
compensation board, shall submit to an examination at reasonable
times and places by a duly qualified physician or surgeon designated
and paid by the employer or by order of the board. The employee shall
have the right to have present at any such examination any duly
qualified physician or surgeon provided and paid for by the employee.
No fact communicated to or otherwise learned by any physician or
surgeon who may have attended or examined the employee, or who
may have been present at any examination, shall be privileged either in
the hearings provided for in this chapter, or in any action at law
brought to recover d
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(a) After disablement and during the period
of claimed resulting disability or impairment, the employee, if so
requested by the employee's employer or ordered by the worker's
compensation board, shall submit to an examination at reasonable
times and places by a duly qualified physician or surgeon designated
and paid by the employer or by order of the board. The employee shall
have the right to have present at any such examination any duly
qualified physician or surgeon provided and paid for by the employee.
No fact communicated to or otherwise learned by any physician or
surgeon who may have attended or examined the employee, or who
may have been present at any examination, shall be privileged either in
the hearings provided for in this chapter, or in any action at law
brought to recover damages against any employer who is subject to the
compensation provisions of this chapter. If the employee refuses to
submit to, or in any way obstructs the examinations, the employee's
right to compensation and right to take or prosecute any proceedings
under this chapter shall be suspended until the refusal or obstruction
ceases. No compensation shall at any time be payable for the period of
suspension unless in the opinion of the board, the circumstances
justified the refusal or obstruction. The employee must be served with
a notice setting forth the consequences of the refusal under this
subsection. The notice must be in a form prescribed by the worker's
compensation board.
(b) Any employer requesting an examination of any employee
residing within Indiana shall pay, in advance of the time fixed for the
examination, sufficient money to defray the necessary expenses of
travel by the most convenient means to and from the place of
examination, and the cost of meals and lodging necessary during the
travel. If the method of travel is by automobile, the mileage rate to be
paid by the employer shall be the rate as is then currently being paid by
the state to its employees under the state travel policies and procedures
established by the department of administration and approved by the
state budget agency. If the examination or travel to or from the place of
examination causes any loss of working time on the part of the
employee, the employer shall reimburse the employee for the loss of
wages upon the basis of such employee's average daily wage.
(c) When any employee injured in Indiana moves outside Indiana,
the travel expense and the cost of meals and lodging necessary during
the travel, payable under this section, shall be paid from the point in
Indiana nearest to the employee's then residence to the place of
examination. No travel and other expense shall be paid for any travel
and other expense required outside Indiana.
(d) A duly qualified physician or surgeon provided and paid for by
the employee may be present at an examination, if the employee so
desires. In all cases, where the examination is made by a physician or
surgeon engaged by the employer and the employee who has a
disability or is injured has no physician or surgeon present at the
examination, it shall be the duty of the physician or surgeon making the
examination to deliver to the injured employee, or the employee's
representative, a statement in writing of the conditions evidenced by
such examination. The statement shall disclose all facts that are
reported by the physician or surgeon to the employer. This statement
shall be furnished to the employee or the employee's representative as
soon as practicable, but not later than thirty (30) days before the time
the case is set for hearing. The statement may be submitted by either
party as evidence by that physician or surgeon at a hearing before the
worker's compensation board if the statement meets the requirements
of subsection (f). If the physician or surgeon fails or refuses to furnish
the employee or the employee's representative with such statement
thirty (30) days before the hearing, then the statement may not be
submitted as evidence, and the physician shall not be permitted to
testify before the worker's compensation board as to any facts learned
in the examination. All of the requirements of this subsection apply to
all subsequent examinations requested by the employer.
(e) In all cases where an examination of an employee is made by a
physician or surgeon engaged by the employee, and the employer has
no physician or surgeon present at such examination, it shall be the
duty of the physician or surgeon making the examination to deliver to
the employer or the employer's representative a statement in writing of
the conditions evidenced by such examination. The statement shall
disclose all the facts that are reported by such physician or surgeon to
the employee. The statement shall be furnished to the employer or the
employer's representative as soon as practicable, but not later than
thirty (30) days before the time the case is set for hearing. The
statement may be submitted by either party as evidence by that
physician or surgeon at a hearing before the worker's compensation
board if the statement meets the requirements of subsection (f). If the
physician or surgeon fails or refuses to furnish the employer or the
employer's representative with such statement thirty (30) days before
the hearing, then the statement may not be submitted as evidence, and
the physician or surgeon shall not be permitted to testify before the
worker's compensation board as to any facts learned in such
examination. All of the requirements of this subsection apply to all
subsequent examinations made by a physician or surgeon engaged by
the employee.
(f) All statements of physicians or surgeons required by this section,
whether those engaged by employee or employer, shall contain the
following information:
(1) The history of the injury, or claimed injury, as given by the
patient.
(2) The diagnosis of the physician or surgeon concerning the
patient's physical or mental condition.
(3) The opinion of the physician or surgeon concerning the causal
relationship, if any, between the injury and the patient's physical
or mental condition, including the physician's or surgeon's reasons
for the opinion.
(4) The opinion of the physician or surgeon concerning whether
the injury or claimed injury resulted in a disability or impairment
and, if so, the opinion of the physician or surgeon concerning the
extent of the disability or impairment and the reasons for the
opinion.
(5) The original signature of the physician or surgeon.
Notwithstanding any hearsay objection, the worker's compensation
board shall admit into evidence a statement that meets the requirements
of this subsection unless the statement is ruled inadmissible on other
grounds.
(g) Delivery of any statement required by this section may be made
to the attorney or agent of the employer or employee and such an action
shall be construed as delivery to the employer or employee.
(h) Any party may object to a statement on the basis that the
statement does not meet the requirements of subsection (e). The
objecting party must give written notice to the party providing the
statement and specify the basis for the objection. Notice of the
objection must be given no later than twenty (20) days before the
hearing. Failure to object as provided in this subsection precludes any
further objection as to the adequacy of the statement under subsection
(f).
(i) The employer upon proper application, or the worker's
compensation board, shall have the right in any case of death to require
an autopsy at the expense of the party requesting the same. If, after a
hearing, the board orders an autopsy and the autopsy is refused by the
surviving spouse or next of kin, in this event any claim for
compensation on account of the death shall be suspended and abated
during the refusal. The surviving spouse or dependent must be served
with a notice setting forth the consequences of the refusal under this
subsection. The notice must be in a form prescribed by the worker's
compensation board. No autopsy, except one performed by or on the
authority or order of the coroner in discharge of the coroner's duties,
shall be held in any case by any person without notice first being given
to the surviving spouse or next of kin, if they reside in Indiana or their
whereabouts can reasonably be ascertained, of the time and place
thereof, and reasonable time and opportunity shall be given such
surviving spouse or next of kin to have a representative or
representatives present to witness same. However, if such notice is not
given, all evidence obtained by the autopsy shall be suspended on
motion duly made to the board.
Formerly: Acts 1937, c.69, s.12a; Acts 1963, c.388, s.14; Acts
1975, P.L.235, SEC.5. As amended by P.L.28-1988, SEC.54;
P.L.95-1988, SEC.17; P.L.109-1992, SEC.2; P.L.99-2007,
SEC.183.