08/20/2026
When a plaintiff’s Defense Medical Examination (DME) is over, the defense examiner’s work is not finished. A written report may follow days or weeks later—and that report can become an important piece of evidence in a personal injury case.
For plaintiff attorneys, one critical question is often overlooked:
Does the defense medical examiner’s report accurately reflect what actually happened during the examination?
Without an independent professional present at the DME, answering that question can be difficult.
A legal nurse consultant attending the Defense Medical Exam can provide plaintiff counsel with contemporaneous observations of the examination, helping the legal team understand what occurred, what was asked, what testing was performed, and whether the eventual DME report appears consistent with the examination itself.
At Nutris Legal Nurse Consultants, our nurses attend Defense Medical Exams on behalf of plaintiff attorneys, follow attorney directives, and provide professional documentation following the appointment. Nutris specializes in nurse observer DME attendance and related support for legal teams.
For plaintiff firms preparing to challenge or evaluate a defense medical examiner’s opinions, that independent record can be extremely valuable.
Head over to our blog to learn more.
John Eric Smith