The Certified Legal Nurse Consultant: Arguably The Most Influential Member Of Your Legal Team
Category: Legal Nurse
Author: Georgina Tyburski
Posted: Friday - November 6, 2015
Certified legal nurse consultants apply their medical knowledge to legal cases regarding malpractice or other medical legal claims. Legal nurse consulting requires critical analysis of medical literature, health records, and relevant legal documents pertinent to the resolution of these cases. Consultants serve as researchers, educators, analysts, and strategists, providing assistance to the legal team.
What Does a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant Do?
As medical experts, nurse consultants take on a number of essential tasks in order to support a legal argument such as:
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Educating attorneys and clients about relevant medical information
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Analyzing the plaintiff's medical records
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Drafting medical sections of legal documents to be used in the case
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Calculating cost of the plaintiff's medical needs
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Serving as a nursing expert witness
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Preparing related evidence for the trial
Where Does a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant Work?
He or she acts as the liaison between the legal and healthcare spheres and may practice in a number of different settings inluding:
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Insurance companies
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Health care facilities
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Law firms
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Forensic teams
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Business legal departments
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Government agencies
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Independent practices
In What Kinds of Cases Does a Legal Nurse Consultant Participate?
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Surgical errors
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Medication errors
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Postoperative care errors
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Birth injuries
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Failure to properly diagnose
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Anesthesia errors
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Nursing home abuse
Certified legal nurse consultants also provide services for personal injury cases such as:
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Car accidents
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Motorcycle accidents
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Sports injuries
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Toxic mold
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Dog bites
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Water accidents
Statistics show that unnecessary surgery causes 12,000 deaths every year, and 7,000 deaths occur as a result of medication errors in hospitals. However, more than nine out of 10 physicians report overtesting and overtreating to be a common occurrence in order to protect themselves from malpractice lawsuits. A malpractice suit can be incredibly costly. Though physicians win 79.6% of malpractice claims that are tried by jury, in 2009, the total direct cost to healthcare providers resulting from medical malpractice liability was $35 billion.
What does a certified legal nurse consultant do to ensure that only the most accurate information is brought to trial? Why is he or she involved in such cases? It's simple: The legal nurse consultant is a vital member of a legal team, providing a wealth of knowledge that is guaranteed to influence the outcome of a case or claim.
