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37 verbatim requirements from Guidelines Regarding Compulsory Medical Examination.
Fourth Judicial Circuit (Duval, Clay, Nassau). Procedural information only; not legal advice.
Verbatim from https://www.jud4.org/getContentAsset/7b300110-572c-4258-9bc2-a87b7b8bf1b6/135b97c9-84fa-4e82-b956-0fbccec4aa1f/Division-CV-E-Guidelines-Regarding-Compulsory-Medical-Examinations.pdf?language=en, harvested 2026-07-25; whitespace normalised only. • The examination must not be referred to during the actual examination or in front of the jury as an “independent medical exam” or “court ordered medical exam.” • Requests for an examination must set forth the time, place, manner, conditions, and scope of the examination as well as the name of and the qualifications of the person conducting the examination with specificity. • If examinations under these rules are requested such written request should be made no later than 150 days before the pretrial date to allow time for objections, hearings on same and an opportunity to reset the examination. • P. 1.360(a)(1)(A) must be filed no later than 30 days from the written request assuming service of process has occurred at least 15 days prior to the request being served. • The objections must state the specific reasons for the objections. • A hearing must be immediately requested on any objection filed. • P. 1.360(a)(1)(B) [non-physical condition] must be obtained with an order from this Court, or with a written agreement of all parties in the form of an agreed order submitted to this Court. • The date and time of the examination must be coordinated with opposing counsel. • If the attorneys cannot agree on a mutually convenient date for the examination to occur within 45 days of the request, the Court, upon written motion, will pick the date without consultation with counsels’ calendars. • P., governing physical examinations, do not restrict where the examination is to be performed, except that it be set at a “reasonable place.”3 See, also • District Court of Appeal was the first court DCA to address and decide: “whether a nonresident plaintiff must submit to an independent medical examination in Florida.” Tsutras v. • To say that Tsutraes must give up a right (the same right as any other nonresident in so far as the location of an IME is concerned) because they moved from Florida after the accident is, in effect, imposing a continuing Florida residence on the • Davis, 993 So. 2d 99 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008) [clarifying Tsutras to say that the examination must be at a “reasonable place,” not that it required Plaintiff to return to forum especially after he had already come to Florida for a deposition]; • No other attendees shall be present during the examination without specific order of the Court. • Absent a court order stating otherwise, the Defendant and/or Defense Medical Examiner shall not interfere with the Plaintiff’s right to have the above listed persons in attendance and record the • Plaintiff’s counsel will notify, in writing within 10 days of the examination, the names, relationship to the plaintiff, and number of persons who will be present so that an examining room of sufficient size can be reserved. • Neither Plaintiff’s counsel, nor anyone else permitted to be present, shall interject themselves into the examination unless the examiner seeks information not permitted by this • If the person to be examined is not fluent in English and if the examiner is not fluent in the language of the person being examined a certified interpreter must be utilized to interpret the examination. • The medical examiner shall not be entitled to any payment of an additional or accommodation fee from the Plaintiff or his counsel, simply because of the presence -- 4 of 8 -- 5 • The Court shall reserve ruling as to whether such costs, if imposed by an examiner, may be properly recoverable by the Defendant as a taxable cost, or otherwise awarded by the court. • Co., 566 So. 2d 529 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990) (requesting party must obtain records through normal discovery process). • If a patient information sheet was forwarded to counsel for the party to be examined at least 10 business days before the examination, the party to be examined should bring the completed information sheet with them. 5 If the original records, films or other diagnostic aids are in the actual possession of the party, or his/her guardian, being examined, those records would have to be produced at the time of the examination upon proper written request. -- 5 of 8 -- 6 • Written intake forms or histories that are deemed necessary by the examiner must be provided to counsel for the party to be examined no later than 10 days prior to the exam. • These forms can be reviewed by counsel and completed by the party to be examined and must be brought to the office of the examiner on the day of the exam. • Defendant’s examiner, the Court shall rule on the need for any such tests prior to the tests being performed. • Further, if such diagnostic tests are ruled necessary by the Court, such tests shall be limited solely to the part(s) of the body at issue in this case. • The party being examined should arrive no later than 15 minutes before the start time of the examination. • Examinations which have been scheduled for a specific time should commence within 30 minutes of that time. • Retained experts must be produced for discovery deposition without the necessity of a subpoena. • If specific items are to be brought to the deposition by the retained expert witness, opposing counsel must be notified well in advance of the deposition. -- 6 of 8 -- 7 • P. 1.360(b) a “detailed written report” will be issued by the examining physician or healthcare provider and provided to all counsel no later than 30 days after the day of the examination. • The party requesting the examination shall also provide to opposing counsel, at the time the examination is scheduled, no less than three dates when the examiner will be available for oral deposition. • The witness shall be available to be deposed within ten (10) days of rendering the report. • Should any of the dates be within 30 days of the examination, the above referred to CME written report shall be provided to deposing counsel no later than 5 days before the deposition date. • Any changes of opinions or conclusions based on new information must be made known to opposing counsel immediately, a revised or supplemental report provided and dates for updated depositions must also be provided. • All protected health information generated or obtained by the examiner shall be kept in accordance with HIPAA requirements and shall not be disseminated by the examiner or defense counsel to any person or entity not a party to this case without a specific order from this Court. • However, the Court does require full payment to be remitted to the examiner no later than 10 business days from receipt of the invoice from the examiner’s office. -- 7 of 8 -- 8
The examination must not be referred to during the actual examination or in front of the jury as an “independent medical exam” or “court ordered medical exam.”
Reviewer note: Document sha256: 69f3ffa61b8ede6705c757d1241931715712c74c0d658e9458ebd2679266ec4c. Extracted from the document's own text layer.
Judge Bell caps motions and responses at 5 pages for UMC hearings and 12 pages for special-set hearings.
Judge Alijewicz requires every motion for attorney's fees and/or costs to attach a document detailing time records — no records, no fee award.
Judge Corlew bars informal contact: every communication with the Court must be in writing, filed with the Clerk, with copies furnished to all parties — and no calls to the JA to schedule or cancel UMC.