Medical & Legal Fee Guide

Registered Massage Therapists (RMTs) provide necessary treatment of people recovering from bodily injury. Therefore, RMTs may be required to provide services for a variety of legal proceedings.

This may include the preparation of reports or providing professional opinions and/or testifying in court hearings and administrative tribunals. This might also include claims involving medical disability, life insurance or motor vehicle accidents. The RMT involved in such a matter is advised to get written clarification about fees and other terms of engagement before entering into any agreement to offer services such as the ones listed below.

If required in civil or administrative proceedings, a RMT is usually provided monetary compensation by the individual who asks for an RMT’s service via legal counsel for either the patient or the defendant, or also the insurance provider. This Fee Schedule sets out recommended fees for the provision of RMT services in such circumstances.

Reports, letters and opinions

• Medical reports and opinions are usually requested from an RMT who has already been providing treatment to an individual;
• Once such a request is received, the RMT should establish a fee schedule that reflects time spent on patient examinations, preparation of a report, any revisions, etc. In all cases, no services should be undertaken prior to agreement with the individual or their legal representative about the terms of service and fees.
• If the request has come from legal counsel, the RMT should obtain a commitment from the lawyer or legal firm to be responsible for the RMT’s fees. This should occur before any service is provided.
• In some cases, a patient may be required to pay for his or her own costs for the services.


Legal and medical considerations

• A RMT may be called upon to provide oral testimony in a court or administrative hearing.
• When the RMT’s attendance in a tribunal is required, the party should provide prior confirmation of who will be directly responsible for the RMT’s fees.
• When preparing a fee schedule, the RMT should include compensation for their attendance at the court or tribunal, but also the time required to prepare to give evidence.
• In most jurisdictions within a province, a witness can be compelled to testify during the court or tribunal proceedings. This may originate from a subpoena requiring a RMT to attend, and may also include provision for a witness fee.
• If a party requesting a RMT’s testimony fails to agree to prior compensation, it is not considered grounds for the RMT to excuse his or her self from attending court when issued a subpoena to appear. This could result in contempt of court proceedings against an RMT.
• It is common for ‘court costs’ to be awarded to the successful litigant by a judge, allowing the party to recover its reasonable costs incurred in retaining witnesses, including fees. However, should the unsuccessful party dispute the costs before a court registrar, the RMT’s fees may be disputed as unreasonable.
• The Registrar can disallow any portion of the RMT’s fees that it deems unreasonable in relation to work done or time spent.

Recommended fee schedule

The following fees are recommended by the CRMTA in regards to legal and medical proceedings.

• Handling of insurance claims: $50;
• Consultation (15-minute increments): Consultation in person or via telephone/videoconference: $50;
• Basic Correspondence: One-page letter on behalf of a patient: $100
• Progress Report Form: $75;
• Synopsis/Overview: One page written synopsis including patient history, treatment and prognosis: $200;
• Medical/Legal Report: Document regarding patient history, doctor referral details, presenting symptoms, qualified diagnosis, assessments, treatment, results and condition analysis. This is a factual summary with no medical opinion: $400;
• Medical/Legal Opinion Report: Summary of the medical report above, but may also include RMT’s professional opinion of cause of injury and prognosis for therapy. Opinion may also include assessment of future care needs and patient’s ability to function in the future, based on the RMT’s professional training and expertise: $700;
• Production of Clinical Records: Fee of $100.00 or $.50 per page, whichever is higher, for the patient’s clinical records, with additional requests at a charge of $.50 a page.
• Court Preparation Time: $90/hr, not including RMT’s preparation time to give testimony;
• Interest: All invoices should include a due date for payment and the interest accrued after that date, with interest established on a ‘per annum’ basis and calculated daily, compounded monthly;
• Court Testimony: $700/half-day;
• Court Testimony Mileage: $.55/KM;
• Treatment Plan for Insurer: $50 for 1 page; $80 for 2 pages;
• Failure to Notify RMT of Court Adjournment or Out-of-Court Settlement: Applicable when patient or legal counsel fails to provide 5 business days’ notice of cancellation of court or other legal appearance: $700.

Fee Schedule Effective: May 2015

For more information, please Contact Us.