The injured worker has two different problems from the same injury (for instance a psychiatric and an orthopaedic claim). May he request two panels, one psychiatric and one orthopaedic?
A. For injuries prior to 1/1/94 – The injured worker may have two panels, one for the psychiatric claim and one for the orthopaedic claim. For injuries on or after 1/1/94- The carrier is only required to pay for one QME evaluation. The injured worker can contact the carrier to tell them about their request and to see if they will authorize payment for both evaluations. If the carrier says they will only pay for only one evaluation, the injured worker will have to choose one specialty.
