Frequently Asked Questions

•  What is my relationship to Benchmark Medical Consultants?

You are an independent contractor. You are not an employee of Benchmark. Benchmark acts as your agent and practice management company or "back office" for medical-legal consulting that we refer to you. Benchmark charges the client on your behalf for services you perform. Part of these fees are kept by Benchmark as payment for administrative services we perform for you, and the rest is paid to you as your net profit.

•  What administrative services does Benchmark provide?

Benchmark performs administrative duties for you including scheduling exams, organizing and shipping medical records to you, verifying your assignment and/or issues to be addressed, confirming appointments, transcription, proofreading, billing, collecting, and scheduling of legal appearances. We also promote your services to our client and provide Continuing Medical Education (CME) to you on medical-legal topics.

•  Is Benchmark my client?

No. Benchmark refers cases to you from many different clients that can include insurance companies and law firms.

•  How do I bill for my services?

When you complete a service (IME, record review, etc.) you submit your billing time to Benchmark. A billing ticket is provided for you to write down your time for various services. You may fax, email or mail your billing to Benchmark. Benchmark then bills the client for your time according to your fee schedule at the time your report is issued or a service performed. You would not bill the client directly.

•  How is my fee schedule with Benchmark set up?

Enclosed in this packet is a fee schedule for your review and signature. You are paid hourly for most services including examination, records review, report preparation, supplemental report, verbal consultation, testimony preparation, deposition and arbitration. You are paid a flat fee for trial, no shows and rushes. The fee schedule has minimum times of one hour for an exam and 1.5 hours for IME report. On the more complex cases when more time is spent when warranted by the complexity of the exam and/or report, you may bill over and above these minimum times. This fee schedule does NOT apply to CalPERS disability evaluation or to California Workers' Compensation (AME/QME) reports.

•  Why are there two fee schedules?

There is one fee schedule with two pages. On the first page with your name at the top are the rates charged to the client on your behalf for various services. The second page, titled "Physician Disbursement," shows your disbursement or "net" for those same services. This is the amount you will receive for the various services you perform. The difference is what Benchmark gets for providing administrative support, including obtaining the case for you, scheduling, transcription, quality review, legal calendaring, billing, etc. In your clinical office, you charge a fee to see a patient, but part of your fee goes to pay your overhead - nurses, receptionist, billing staff, etc. So too with your medical-legal cases, except that Benchmark is your overhead for those cases, and part of your fee goes to pay for the services Benchmark provides. When testifying about your fees, you should always testify about the fees charged to the client, not your net.

•  How and when do I get paid?

Benchmark issues physician disbursements on the 5 th day of each month. You will be paid for all cases for which we have received payment from the client in the previous month. Typically, payment by the client occurs 45 to 60 days following the date they receive the report and invoice.

•  How much would I get paid for an IME?

You would be paid your hourly rate according to the second page of the fee schedule for each component of the IME (exam, record review, and report). Minimum times apply to the exam and report preparation. For example, if your net disbursement were $250/hour, and you spent one hour reviewing records, you would be paid a minimum of $250 for the exam, plus $250 for the record review, plus a minimum of $375 (1.5 hours) for the IME report preparation for a total of $875. Additional record review time, exam time, report prep time, film review, research, etc., would be added to this at your hourly rate. Typically, physicians charge about 1 hour per inch of records, but certain records, like deposition transcripts can take longer. Please keep in mind that excessive time spent will result in a higher bill to the client, and perhaps less repeat business from that client for your services.

•  Why does Benchmark get paid for work that I do?

Benchmark is paid for the administrative services and support that we provide you, as well as for referring the case to you. Benchmark performs administrative duties for you including scheduling exams, organizing and shipping medical records to you, transcription, proofreading, billing, collecting, and scheduling of legal appearances.

•  Do I get paid for travel?

Yes. You are paid an hourly rate for travel to examinations and testimony per your fee schedule. 100% of the rate billed is paid to you.

•  What kind of cases will you send me?

Most of the cases you get from Benchmark will be personal injury civil litigation cases. These are usually auto accidents, falls, or other injuries where one party is suing another party. They are not workers' compensation cases. Typically, the defendant (insurance company or their counsel) will be your client.

You may be asked to do a retirement disability case. Again, this is not workers' comp, but rather is a case where a government employee or other employee has filed a claim for retirement disability benefits. The client is typically the employer.

A small percentage of Benchmark's clients are seeking experts for medical malpractice cases. These can be either plaintiff or defense. You may take or not take these cases at your discretion.

•  Can I charge a retainer?

Yes; however, retainers are not typically charged to defense clients. They are usually asked for when the client is a plaintiff.

•  How am I chosen for a particular case?

The client will either ask for you by name, or Benchmark will offer the client a list of potential experts/consultants with their CV and fee schedule for the geographic area and medical specialty desired. The client will make a decision as to which doctor is the best fit for their case. They may request a brief verbal consultation with a potential expert/consultant before deciding. This is usually done at no charge to the client.

•  Do I have to take every case I am offered?

No. You can decline a case due to time constraints, and should always decline a case if there is a conflict of interest. However once, you perform an examination, you would need to finish all subsequent services required of you.

•  Will I have to testify?

You would be legally obligated to testify if the case does not settle. You might have to testify in a deposition, arbitration or trial.

•  How often is testimony required?

Typically about 85% to 90% of the cases you do will settle before any testimony is required. You never know, however, which cases will settle and which ones will go on to litigation.

•  What will I be asked to address in my reports?

In personal injury cases, clients usually want to know your opinion on causation, reasonable treatment, permanent residuals, future treatment, and reasonable time off work. In disability retirement cases, the client will want to know whether the examinee is capable of performing their usual job duties or not. In medical malpractice, the client will want to know whether or not the standard of care was followed. You should provide your opinions to a reasonable medical probability (more likely than not).

•  How will my dictation be handled? Will I have the opportunity to review and approve the final report before it is sent?

A call in dictation service is available for you to use. The dictation will be typed by the service, the draft will be proofread by a report analyst, and then emailed or faxed to you for your review and revisions. Any missed issues, unclear text, or other questions will be brought to your attention at that time. You will then fax or email your revisions and report approval back to Benchmark, along with your billing time. Your signature will be electronically applied to the final report, it will be printed on bond paper, and it will be sent to the client with your invoice.

•  I am new to medical-legal. What orientation or training does Benchmark provide?

Benchmark will provide initial orientation upon receipt of your first case, then ongoing orientation through the report review process. Benchmark is also an ACCME accredited CME provider and offers periodic workshops on report writing and testimony skills.

•  Can Benchmark provide insurance for me?

Yes. Benchmark can provide professional liability coverage for work you do through us. This is an optional service and costs $700/year. If you chose to have this coverage, $700 will be deducted from your disbursement each year, or you will be billed. If your own medical malpractice insurance covers you for medical-legal work, you are not required to buy this optional coverage.

•  How can I get more work from Benchmark?

Ask to be featured in our email newsletter to clients. You can also volunteer to give lunchtime presentations to our clients on medical topics. This allows the client to get to know you and learn about your qualifications.

•  Will Benchmark manage all of my Medical-Legal business?

Yes. If you are currently doing med-legal consulting through your clinical office, and would like Benchmark to handle these services for you, we can do so under your existing Benchmark fee schedule.

•  How do I direct my other medical-legal business through Benchmark?

Have your clients call Benchmark at (800) 458-1261. Tell them that we are your administrative service for all your med-legal work. We will handle it from there, and have the client send the medical records directly to our office for processing.