If a physician didn't perform a particular exam or prepare the report, you should:

• A. Object to the report as inadmissible
• B. Contact the physician's office and negotiate
• C. Report the physician to the WCAB
• D. Ignore the issue

Answer: (A)

In workers’ compensation proceedings, medical evidence must be grounded in a real examination or proper medical evaluation by the physician who prepared the report. If a physician didn’t perform the required exam or didn’t prepare the report, that document lacks the necessary foundation and is not admissible as medical evidence. The correct move is to object to the report as inadmissible to keep the record credible and prevent unexamined conclusions from influencing the decision.

Other options don’t address the evidentiary issue: contacting the physician’s office to negotiate doesn’t cure the lack of an examination, reporting the physician to the WCAB is appropriate only for professional misconduct, and ignoring the problem could let inadmissible evidence slip into the record. In practice, you’d object and, if needed, request a proper medical evaluation from a physician who actually examined the claimant or from a certified QME/AME.