Legal nurse consultants are registered nurses who provide medical expertise to attorneys in a variety of cases, including nursing home abuse, medical malpractice, personal injury, wrongful death, and product liability. Their services include assisting with intake decisions, pleadings, case management, testimony, and other duties from the beginning of a case through trial. Some legal nurse consultants specialize in certain types of cases or conditions, such as nursing home abuse or back injuries.
Here are some of the best ways a legal nurse consultant can be valuable to attorneys:
- Evaluating Initial Medical Records for Intake Decisions: Legal nurse consultants can quickly and efficiently read and interpret medical records, helping attorneys make the critical decision of whether to commit time and money to a case in the first place. They have the training and experience to understand medical terminology and methodology, enabling them to achieve faster turnaround times than medical doctors.
- Assessing Whether a Medical Professional Used the Proper Standard of Care: Legal nurse consultants can determine whether the care given to a patient met the required standard of care. They have the experience and training to evaluate medical reports and can pinpoint where medical professionals may have gone wrong, providing evidence of the standard of care required for the specific condition or procedure.
- Determining If Negligence Actually Caused The Injuries: Legal nurse consultants can review medical records to determine whether the injuries alleged were actually caused by negligence. In personal injury and medical malpractice cases, they can determine whether a patient would have become more ill or passed away even if the proper standard of care had been used.
- Helping to Determine the Value of a Case: Legal nurse consultants can determine the severity of injuries and how likely they are to result in a permanent disability. They can also distinguish between new and pre-existing injuries. This information is valuable when deciding whether it is worth investing in litigation and when putting together demands for settlement or charging the jury.
- Assisting Attorneys During Every Stage of a Case: Legal nurse consultants provide ongoing support throughout a case, from reviewing updated medical reports to preparing reports regarding the permanency of an injury and preparing bills of particulars. They can also testify in court as expert witnesses, often at a lower cost than hiring doctors.
In summary, legal nurse consultants can provide valuable assistance to attorneys in a variety of ways, using their training and expertise to evaluate medical records, determine the proper standard of care, assess causation, determine the value of a case, and provide ongoing support throughout the litigation.