The role of the medical advisor in personal injury cases

After a drug study one could choose different directions. Some graduates start working as doctors in hospitals. Others prefer a career as a general practitioner and still others want to do medical examinations or become a company doctor or insurance doctor.

The profession of medical advisor

A small group of graduates choose the profession of medical advisor. You can read what this course entails in this contribution, in particular with regards to the medical advisor in personal injury cases. Personal injury cases consist of people, who have been the victims of an accident. This may concern a traffic accident such as a rear-end collision (Dutch: kop-staart botsing) or an accident at work, also known as an occupational accident (Dutch: bedrijfsongeval). Someone can be injured as a result of a traffic accident or occupational accident. Neck complaints, broken limbs or brain injuries are examples of this. A medical advisor is called in to map out the injury. In a personal injury case, there is the personal injury victim on the one hand. He wants to recover the damage as a result of his injury from the liable party. Because most people in the Netherlands are insured against liability, the party that has to pay the personal injury compensation is usually a personal injury insurance company.

The personal injury victim is usually assisted by a personal injury lawyer. He / she engages a medical adviser to map out the injuries of his or her client. The medical advisor is also asked to map out the complaints and limitations as a result of this injury. It is particularly important here what the permanent complaints and limitations are. The personal injury lawyer needs this information to determine the injury claim. For example, as a result of the injury, there may be incapacity for work, medical costs are incurred and help is often needed in the household, in the field of care and in the maintenance of the house and garden.

The personal injury insurer itself always engages a medical advisor with the request to do the same as the medical advisor of the personal injury lawyer. For example, in a personal injury case there are always 2 medical advisers, one who act for the personal injury victim and one who acts for the personal injury insurance company. As a graduated medicine student you can therefore choose which position you will work for, for the victim or for the insurer.

The medical advice

The medical advisor first collects all medical information. This is done by means of a medical authorization. With this, the personal injury victim gives permission to request and view his or her medical data.

On the basis of the medical information, the medical advisor draws up an advice. This medical advice contains a description of the available medical information, such as from the general practitioner, the specialist in the hospital and the physiotherapist. Then, based on this information, a number of questions are answered from the personal injury lawyer or the personal injury insurer. There is then a medical advice, which the parties use to settle the personal injury case.