How claims assistants serve medical records on a QME before the evaluation

Serve the opposing party the records, cover letter, and log at least 20 days before those papers go to the QME. Then send the same packet to the Form 110 records address with a page-count declaration and proof of service. Do not hand a stack at the exam.

This is for the claims assistant, case coordinator or medical-only examiner at a regional TPA, self-insured desk or carrier unit who works California files in Guidewire, Origami Risk, mySedgwick, Juris or a spreadsheet of outstanding items.

Serving medical records on a QME is the two-step send that puts the exhibit set in the evaluator’s file before the exam: first on the opposing party, then on the QME office. It is not the treating-chart request to HIM and not a work status form. Chase treating records into the file first. See what records the QME needs. QME service is a California medical-legal step. Other states use an IME or a designated doctor. Check counsel. This is not legal advice.

What a complete serve contains

A complete serve is the same set, twice: once on the opposing party, once on the QME. 8 CCR §35 (amended 2024-02-26, read 2026-10-12) and Labor Code §4062.3 (SB 863, effective 2013-01-01, read 2026-10-12) are the list.

Item	Why it is on the serve
Treating records and other medical records relevant to the disputed issue	§35(a)(1)–(2). Recut to the body part and date of injury
A cover letter on the issues the evaluator must address	§35(a)(3), served no less than 20 days before the evaluation
A records log listing each item in the order it appears	§35(c). The applicant attorney attaches one for records sent from that office
A declaration under penalty of perjury of Labor Code 4062.3 compliance, with the total page count	8 CCR §9793(n) (operative 2021-04-01, read 2026-10-12). Without it, the records are not considered received
Proof of service on the opposing party	8 CCR §10625(c) (amended 2022-01-01, read 2026-10-12). §35(g) treats a send to the QME without copies to all parties as ex parte
On an unrepresented permanent-disability exam, DWC-AD Form 101	QME Form 110 (rev. 10/2013, read 2026-10-12) and 8 CCR §10160(c) (read 2026-10-12): Form 101 and the records go to the QME before the exam

The 20-day clock is service on the opposing party, not the day the QME opens the envelope. Represented file: serve the attorney of record under §10625(a). Unrepresented file: serve the employee with the §35(c) cover language (“Please look carefully at the enclosed information… If you do not want the doctor to see this information, you must let me know within 10 days.”). Defense counsel often serves the carrier’s set. The duty in §35(a) still sits on the claims administrator. On an AME, §4062.3(c) tells the parties to agree on what goes. On r/WorkersComp in May 2024 a commenter wrote that the defense has the obligation and that neither side can object to medical records. That tracks §4062.3(b).

How to send the packet to the QME

Two sends. Do not collapse them into one fax to the exam suite.

1. Pull the QME exam row from Guidewire, Origami Risk, mySedgwick, Juris or the spreadsheet. Confirm Form 110 is on the file. The QME has five business days after the appointment is made to serve that form under 8 CCR §34(a) (read 2026-10-12).
2. Chase treating records matching the body part and date of injury into the claim file. A lifetime dump is not this packet. See how long a provider has to send records.
3. Build one set: the records, the cover letter, the log, the §9793(n) declaration with an accurate page count, and Form 101 on an unrepresented PD exam.
4. Serve that set on the opposing party by first-class mail, electronic service, personal service, or another §10625(b) method. Attach a proof of service. Log the sent date, the method, and who was served. Do not autodial the injured worker’s cell for this packet.
5. Wait 10 days for a non-medical objection. A timely objection keeps those records out unless a WCJ orders them in. Medical records still go.
6. Send the same complete set to the records address on Form 110, or on the portal or fax that office named for records. Include the declaration and the proof of service showing the other side already has the set.
7. Call the office only to confirm the file arrived. §4062.3(f) allows talk about furnishing records. Do not discuss the case.
8. If the office has not confirmed the file 10 days before the exam, resend the same complete set on the channel they will take. Do not open a second address from a rush email.

What to leave off

Item	Why it fails
A stack handed to the QME at check-in	Pre-exam communications with a panel QME must be in writing and served 20 days first. On r/WorkersComp in September 2025, posters wrote that offices refused a walk-in stack without a cover letter, proof of service, and a declaration
Records sent to the QME without a copy to the other side	§35(g) treats that as ex parte. The other side can dump the evaluator under §4062.3(g)
A send to the exam suite, not the Form 110 records address	Office never saw it. Form 110 has a separate records-address line
Records without the §9793(n) declaration, or with a wrong page count	Not considered received. A page is an 8 1/2 by 11 single-sided sheet. Condensed pages count separately
Non-medical records the other side objected to within 10 days	Stay out until a WCJ orders them in
Asking the injured worker to carry the chart as the only send	One-sided contact the office will not take

Clocks we read

Only California QME rules we read. Other states differ.

Clock	What it is
5 business days after the appointment is made	QME serves Form 110. Use the records address on that form. §34(a)
20 days before the information goes to the evaluator	Serve the other side the same records and the cover letter. §4062.3(b) and §35(c)
20 days before the evaluation	Cover letter and other pre-exam communications with a panel QME. §4062.3(e) and §35(a)(3)
10 days after that opposing-party service	Window to object to non-medical records. There is no form. A letter is enough
Unrepresented worker books within 20 days of the panel	§35(h) drops the 20-day wait for medical information. Non-medical information still needs the 20-day serve
10 days after the exam if records are still out	The evaluator writes the report, notes the gap, then a supplemental. §35(i)

DWC’s injured-worker FAQ (November 2023, read 2026-10-12) restates the 20-day rule and says the wronged party may cancel the evaluation if it is missed.

When the office says the records never arrived

Missing records do not pause the report clock. 8 CCR §38(h) (read 2026-10-12) and DWC’s physician FAQ (February 2026, read 2026-10-12) say the evaluator may not request an extension because the carrier failed to provide records. The report is still due in 30 days.

What happened	What the desk does
Office says the CD is unreadable, or the portal never opened	Resend the same complete set on the channel the office will take. Log the date, address, and who took it
Office says there is no declaration, or the page count is wrong	Send a signed §9793(n) declaration with an accurate count. Keep the item open until they confirm the file is in
Sent to the exam suite	Resend to the records address on Form 110
Records still out 10 days after the exam	§35(i): the evaluator writes the report, notes the gap, then a supplemental. Send the late records with a written request, served on the other side
QME wants to cancel because the chart is not in	8 CCR §34(f): not good cause, except a psychiatrist or psychologist on a disputed psyche injury who needs the records first. Keep the appointment. Resend

On r/WorkersComp in December 2025 an unrepresented worker wrote that the doctor had not received records at an August 1 QME. Resend the same complete packet.

Export the California files with a QME date inside 25 days. For each one, confirm Form 110 is on the claim, the opposing party already has the same set you will send the evaluator, and the page-count declaration is signed. Resend any packet that went to the exam suite or went out without a proof of service, and write the sent date on the outstanding-items list that afternoon.