Pennsylvania examiner sentenced for fraudulent DOT exams

June 19, 2019

Tyson Fisher

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A former Pennsylvania Department of Transportation medical examiner was recently sentenced for certifying medical exams he never administered.

On June 5, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia sentenced Dr. Michael McCormick to three years of probation and fined him $1,000 for signing off on DOT exams he never conducted.

According to the indictment, McCormick had his staff at Express Med Urgent Care conduct a DOT physical exam on at least one patient in April 2017. The only problem was that his staff members were not certified examiners.

Despite not conducting the exams himself, McCormick’s staff completed the DOT medical exam report under his name and National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners number. Under false pretenses, the patient was issued an examination certificate.

McCormick was indicted in October 2018 and pleaded guilty soon after to the charges of making a false document and aiding/abetting others in the making of the false document.

Only FMCSA-registered medical examiners can perform medical exams and issue DOT medical examiner’s certificates. After the investigation, FMCSA removed McCormick from the National Registry and voided 223 active medical examiner certificates held by commercial drivers.