Opinion ID: 1938906
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Denial of Claimant's Request for Reimbursement for Medical Examination.

Text: At a prehearing held on August 11, 1977, claimant requested reimbursement for an examination by a physician of his choice, pursuant to section 85.39, The Code. Section 85.39 provides in relevant part: Whenever an evaluation of permanent disability has been made by a physician retained by the employer, and the employee believes this evaluation to be too low, he shall, upon application to the commissioner and at the same time delivery of a copy to the employer and its insurance carrier, be reimbursed by the employer the reasonable fee for a subsequent examination by a physician of his own choice, and reasonably necessary transportation expenses incurred for such examination. The deputy commissioner presiding over the prehearing ruled that reimbursement cannot be ordered under section 85.39 until liability for an injury has been established by the filing of a memorandum of agreement, see § 86.13, The Code; 500 I.A.C. 3.1(2), or by an adjudication. Because defendants' liability had not been established, claimant's request was denied. The commissioner, in his review decision, agreed with the deputy commissioner's reasoning. Claimant contends that section 85.39 should be construed to permit a medical examination furnished by the employer at any point after the defendant has denied liability. That contention is erroneous because of the reason stated by the deputy and the commissioner. That the section 85.39 provision for reimbursement for a medical examination does not come into play until the defendant's liability is established is supported by the legislative history of that provision. Originally, that provision was included in section 85.34. See § 85.34(2)(u), The Code 1975 (amended by 1976 Session, 66th G.A., ch. 1084, § 12). Section 85.34(2) sets forth the manner in which compensation for an unscheduled permanent partial disability shall be determined. As such it presupposes that a right to compensation has been established. By moving the provision for reimbursement for medical examinations from section 85.34 to section 85.39, see 1976 Session, 66th G.A., ch. 1084, § 17, the legislature apparently simply wanted to make that provision more easy to find. Section 85.39 relates only to medical examinations of injured employees whereas section 85.34 covers the broad topic of compensation for permanent disabilities. Moreover, there is no reason to conclude that by its revision the legislature intended to permit employer furnished medical examinations merely to aid the claimant's discovery. Such a conclusion would be entirely inconsistent with the first paragraph of section 85.39, which provides that the employee must bear the cost of having his own physician present during an examination instigated at the behest of the employer.