Psychiatric IME in Retaliation and Discrimination Claims

Stephan M. Carlson, MD, MBA, FAPA · Employment and Fitness

Short answer: a psychiatric IME in retaliation and discrimination litigation addresses whether claimed emotional harm is present, how impairing it is, and what portion is attributable to the alleged conduct versus pre-existing or intervening causes. In a discrimination or retaliation case, the psychiatric exam is not a referendum on whether the plaintiff was wronged. It measures how much of the claimed emotional injury the evidence supports, and how much was already in the room before the employer acted. The threshold is not diagnosis — it is whether the mind is in controversy A defense psychiatric examination in a New York employment case is not available on request. Under CPLR 3121(a), a p

Most relevant service: Expert Witness IME