Jim,

Thank you for the Q and A and columns you have written to help military members, like myself, to get through this ordeal. One thing that happened to me today in my exam today that I did not read about was that the examining doctor was forcing my joint movement to such extreme measures that I had tears in my eyes by the end of the exam. I kept telling him, it was too painful, that I couldn't get my knee, hip, or neck to the point he wanted and he would push them there. Is this a common occurrence and should I have been treated this way?

I have RA so even the slightest movement of a joint with a flare up is painful but this was down right unbearable. Tonight, as I write this, I am completely stiff from the waist down(even after taking pain meds). After the exam, I sat down in the front reception area waiting for paperwork and crying and dizzy from the pain. The receptionist asked if I was okay or if I needed to lie down in back again. All I wanted to do was get out of there as quickly as possible. I limped down to my nurse case manager and PEBLO to tell them what had happened and they said, that's not normal and that they'd get back to me. Any thought or advise on this would be greatly appreciated, I'm completely lost and feeling very mistreated. Thank you.

Reply:

That is absolutely in violation of the way things should be done. I hear of these upon occasion and it sickens me. The C & P exam should demonstrate just how your range of motion works when you do it, not with help or forcing by the examiner.

Yes, you may file a complaint. You are certainly eligible to ask for a repeat examination by a different examiner and maybe in a new location.

It's up to you how you'd like to pursue this.

I fear that this C & P report will say that you are able to flex, rotate, extend and so on to (x) degrees based on how far he forced you. Thus, you have had what is known as an "inadequate exam". That is a basis of appeal.

There are a number of ways to deal with this, including just waiting for the claim to be adjudicated and appealing it. If you would like to take action, tell me a bit about your claim and such and I'll help you to get started.