NEWS FLASH Texas Bar Journal Features Stevie Award Winner Vickie Milazzo
Institute founder Vickie L. Milazzo, RN, MSN, JD was featured in the December 2004 Texas Bar Journal, the best-read legal publication in Texas. The article, "Improving the Health of Law Practices," educated the magazine’s 89,000 subscribers about the CLNC® profession and Vickie’s Mentor of the Year Stevie Award (see article on this business "Oscar®" in Legal Nurse Consulting Ezine, Vol. 16, No. 1, January 7, 2005 in the NACLNC® Community section at www.LegalNurse.com).
The bar journal reported how CLNC®s improve the health of law firms. "A CLNC® can review and interpret relevant medical records, research standards of care, prepare chronologies, screen medical-related cases, and assist with discovery."
According to the Texas Bar Journal, 92.4% of Texas lawyers read every issue. We are sure many of them would agree with this comment from Vickie’s interview: "Few attorneys know how to read medical records or understand the terminology and subtleties of healthcare issues to achieve the best results for their clients. While the attorney is the expert on legal issues, the CLNC® is the expert on nursing and the healthcare system and its inner workings....our Institute helps improve the health of law practices that deal with medical issues."
As a CLNC® you should think about innovative ways to educate attorneys regarding the CLNC® services you can deliver to improve the health of their law practices. Start today.
Click here to read the full article from Vol. 67, p. 929 of the Texas Bar Journal.
BEST PRACTICES FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Signature Moves Open the Door to Financial Success, Part II
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second of a three-part series. I asked the CLNC® Pros to reveal one signature move that helped them catapult their CLNC® practice to the next level of financial success. The third and final article will appear in the next Legal Nurse Consulting Ezine, Vol. 16, No. 6, March 18, 2005.
Breaking Out of My "Rut" Generated an Overwhelming Response from Attorneys
My signature move was broadening my range of cases. Unintentionally I got "stuck" in the mode of handling mostly wound care and nursing home cases. That was NEVER my intention. So I began asking my attorney-clients what other types of cases they had and asking to review some of those. As a result of this move, I received two cases on shoulder dystocia. I had to research the topic as much as I could, then network to find an OB nurse to review the case with me. The response to breaking out of my “rut” has been overwhelming. I am getting a lot more cases.
– Holly Bedgio, RNC, BSN, CRNI, CWS, CLNC
My Extensive Reports Helped Win a Million-Dollar Settlement and 30 More Cases
One signature move that took my CLNC® practice to the next level of financial success was writing extensive reports for nursing home negligence cases.
When I started my private practice as a Certified Legal Nurse ConsultantCM in 2001, very few, if any nursing home negligence cases had ever gone to trial in New Jersey. One of my first cases was a nursing negligence case involving development of pressure sores in a nursing home. An attorney who specialized in nursing home litigation retained me to review the case. She had recently moved from Florida to join a large firm in New Jersey, where she wanted to build a nursing home litigation department.
Over the next several months we worked as a team on this case. I brought to the table extensive nursing home experience. Knowing the environment of nursing home litigation in New Jersey, I approached the case with the goal of writing a report that would help my attorney-client obtain the best settlement for the plaintiff and the family.
I spent a great deal of time developing an extensive report that summarized the medical data into a simple human story for the defense to read. I clearly explained the plaintiff’s illnesses and the standard of care. I then defined each deviation from the standard of care, along with the resulting injuries and the specific state and federal guidelines. The colorful graphs and pictures I added helped the reader visualize the injury. My attorney-client continually asked thought-provoking questions on issues the defense might raise, and I immediately addressed those issues in my report.
My report was instrumental in negotiating a settlement of almost $1,000,000. Since that pressure sore case, I have worked on more than 30 nursing home cases with the same plaintiff attorney. Every case has settled in our favor. This attorney considers me part of her litigation team. As an added bonus, my reports have generated several new clients. The defense firms that settled all those cases are now requesting my CLNC® services.
Learning the art of persuasion through the written word can be a powerful and profitable tool to incorporate into your CLNC® practice.
– Karen L. Cebulko, RN, BSN, CLNC
Seizing Big Opportunities Pays Off in Big Assignments
Carpe diem or "seize the day" should be the working motto of every CLNC®. We must recognize the opportunities in front of us and seize them as our own.
Recently, an attorney-client asked me about our state board of healing arts rules on bringing in out-of-state physicians for brief examinations for a large project of his law firm. I offered to make the phone calls and find the solution. In the process, I learned the law firm needed a case manager for the entire project. I explained that my company could offer a team of Certified Legal Nurse ConsultantsCM to organize and complete the project, and the attorney requested a proposal. With the help of the other CLNC®s, I submitted the proposal and won the assignment.
This project has taken my company to a new level of service offering case management and record management for large projects. As a fringe benefit I get the honor of working with an exceptional team of CLNC®s.
– Patsy Howard, RN, CLNC
Holly Bedgio, RNC, BSN, CRNI, CWS, CLNC has more than 20 years of clinical nursing and management experience. She specializes in medical malpractice and personal injury cases.
Karen Cebulko, RN, BSN, CLNC has more than 20 years of nursing experience. She is a consultant in New Jersey specializing in life care planning, medical-surgical and criminal cases, as well as medical literature research.
Patsy Howard, RN, CLNC is the owner of Metro Legal Nurse Consulting in Missouri. She has 23 years of nursing experience and specializes in medical malpractice litigation.
