Medical-Legal Services: QME, AME, IME & Expert Witness — San Diego
Orthopedic Qualified Medical Evaluations, AMEs, IMEs, record review, and expert testimony from a board-certified surgeon with three decades of practice.
Overview
A closer look
Attorneys, adjusters, and self-insured employers need medical-legal opinions that are clear, complete, and defensible. Dr. Sidney H. Levine serves as a Qualified Medical Evaluator (QME), Agreed Medical Evaluator (AME), and Independent Medical Evaluator (IME) in orthopedic matters throughout San Diego and California. His reports rest on 30+ years of hands-on orthopedic surgical practice — not just chart review — and are written to withstand cross-examination. Referring parties get organized histories, objective findings, causation analysis grounded in the actual mechanism of injury, apportionment where relevant, and treatment / disability opinions that stand up in workers' compensation, personal injury, and Longshore proceedings.
Conditions we treat
What we see most often
Treatment options
Surgical and non-surgical care
Non-surgical options
- QME comprehensive orthopedic evaluations
- AME evaluations for jointly-agreed matters
- IME evaluations for insurers, employers, and third parties
- Focused record review with written opinion
- Causation, apportionment, and MMI analysis
- Impairment ratings (AMA Guides, applicable edition)
Surgical options
- Deposition testimony
- Trial and hearing testimony
- Rebuttal reports and supplemental opinions
What to expect
Your first visit
Referrals arrive by phone, fax, or email. We confirm scope, provide a fee schedule, and schedule the evaluation once records arrive. On evaluation day, Dr. Levine reviews the history, performs a focused orthopedic examination, and reviews imaging. Written reports are typically delivered on the timeline your case requires. For deposition and trial testimony, we coordinate scheduling directly with counsel.
Recovery
What healing looks like
Not applicable — this is a medical-legal service. What referring parties can expect instead: on-time reporting, clear organization, objective clinical reasoning, and testimony that presents complex orthopedic issues in a way judges and juries can follow.
Insurance & coverage
Getting you seen
Medical-legal work is billed directly to the referring party (attorney, insurer, adjuster, or employer). A fee schedule is provided on request. We do not bill patient health insurance for QME/AME/IME evaluations.
FAQ
Frequently asked
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Ready to get answers?
Request an appointment or call the office directly.