Judge Orders IMEs in Mississippi Silicosis Cases

PORT GIBSON, Miss. - A state court judge has granted a defense motion to order Independent Medical Examinations, IMEs, for plaintiffs in several silicosis cases pending in Mississippi. Johnson v. American Optical Corp., et al., No. 2002-0030, Underwood v. American Optical Corp., et al., No. 2002-0027 (Miss. Cir. Ct., Copiah Cty.); Craft v. American Optical Corp., et al., No. 2002-0023 (Miss. Cir. Ct., Claiborne Cty.).

Judge Lamar Pickard entered the order Feb. 3 in the first silica cases to test the state's newly implemented amendment to Rule 35. The amendments allow courts to order plaintiffs to undergo Independent Medical Examinations …