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. A CLNC^® bridges that gap in the attorney's knowledge. As the healthcare provider who is face-to-face with patients 24 hours a day, the RN is in an excellent position to educate attorneys on a wide range of healthcare and nursing issues.

Types of Cases Certified Legal Nurse Consultants Consult On

CLNC^® graduates of our #1 bestselling program have consulted on cases as simple as a neck injury caused by an auto accident, as high-profile as the Rodney King case and as groundbreaking as Fen-Phen, Vioxx, silicone implants and toxic mold litigation. Certified Legal Nurse Consultants provide their nursing expertise to consult with plaintiff and defense attorneys on:

1. Medical and Nursing Malpractice Cases
   Cases involving the professional negligence of a healthcare provider or the negligence of a healthcare facility, such as a hospital or HMO. Every specialty of nursing and medicine is at risk for medical and nursing malpractice.
   
   
2. General Personal Injury Cases
   Nonprofessional negligence cases, such as:
   
   • Premises liability cases (e.g., slip and fall in a grocery store)
     
   • Auto accident cases
     
   • Aviation cases
     
   • Liquor liability cases
     
   • Railroad litigation cases
   
   
3. Products Liability Cases
   Cases involving the liability of manufacturers and sellers of a product to buyers, users and even bystanders who allege damages or injuries as a result of a defective product, including:
   
• Medical device and drug-related cases, such as cases involving:
  • Fen-Phen
  • Vioxx
  • Heart valves
  • Defibrillators
• Nonmedical device cases, such as cases relating to:
  • Motor vehicles, automobiles and automobile parts
  • Cigarettes and cigarette lighters
  • Machinery and equipment
  • Children's toys and products
  • Electromagnetic fields (e.g., cellular telephones)
  • Food
  • Household products
  • Personal care products
  • Consumer products (e.g., appliances)
  • Industrial products


4. Toxic Torts and Environmental Cases
   Cases involving alleged damages or injuries resulting from the release of toxins into the environment, such as:
   • Electromagnetic fields (e.g., against a utility company)
   • Asbestos
   • Radiation contamination
   • Hazardous chemicals in a workplace
   • Waste management and disposal
   • Pesticides
     


5. Workers' Compensation and Workplace Injury Cases
   Cases involving job-related injuries arising out of and in the course of employment, such as:
   • Equipment- and machinery-related injuries
   • Cumulative trauma disorders
   • Injuries caused by objects striking workers
   • Back injuries
   • Auto accidents
   
   
6. Criminal Cases

Cases involving any act that society has deemed contrary to the public good because the act is injurious to all of society and violates the peace and tranquility of the community, such as:

• Driving while intoxicated (DWI) or driving under the influence (DUI) cases
• Sexual and physical assault cases
• Child, spouse or elder abuse cases
• Homicide cases
• Criminal malpractice cases
• Medicare fraud and abuse cases


7. Any Case Where Health, Illness or Injury Is at Issue

Many types of cases involving medical-related issues, such as:
• Family law (e.g., custody battle)
• Probate (e.g., competency issues)
• School health (e.g., injury of a child while crossing the street, sexual assault by a teacher)
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Employer-employee relationships (e.g., wrongful dismissal)
• Sexual harassment
• Right to die
• Social Security benefit issues
• Medicare benefit issues
• Physician-facility relationships (e.g., physician dropped from an HMO, preferred provider network or managed care network)
• Insurance (e.g., reasonableness of a medical bill, relationship of a medical bill to the alleged damages or injuries)
• Family Leave Act
• Bad faith litigation against an insurance company for failure to pay a claim or for denial of access to specific care or treatment
• Wrongful adoption

Assessing Medical Records and Analyzing the Case

• Identify, locate, review and interpret relevant medical records, hospital policies and procedures, other documents and tangible items.
• Organize, tab and paginate medical records for easy reference.
• Prepare chronologies of the medical events involved in a case.
• Summarize, translate and interpret medical records.
• Identify issues of tampering with the medical records.
• Screen medical malpractice cases for merit.
• Identify, locate, summarize and interpret applicable standards of care.
• Identify adherences to and deviations from these standards.
• Identify causation issues, assess damages/injuries and identify contributing factors.
• Identify and recommend potential defendants.
• Develop written reports for the attorney's use as study tools.

Supporting the Attorney's Case

• Search and summarize medical and nursing literature and integrate results of the search into the case analysis.
• Analyze the validity of research studies relied on by all parties.
• Coordinate and attend independent medical examinations.
• Help in developing life care plans.
• Expand the attorney's medical library.

Serving as the Attorney's Liaison

• Interview plaintiff and defense clients, key witnesses and experts.
• Consult with healthcare providers.
• Meet with other consultants and service providers on the attorney's behalf.

Working with Experts and Other Witnesses

• Identify types of testifying experts needed for the case.
• Find and communicate with appropriate expert witnesses for deposition and trial.
• Analyze potential experts' reports and other work product.
• Help prepare witnesses and experts for deposition and trial.
• Serve as an expert witness and testify to the nursing standard of care.

Assisting with Discovery and Preparing for Court

• Prepare questions for deposition or trial examination (direct or cross).
• Prepare interrogatories and requests for production.
• Review and draft responses to various legal documents and correspondence for the attorney's signature.
• Analyze and summarize depositions and past testimony.
• Assist with exhibit preparation and other demonstrative evidence.
• Attend courtroom proceedings when relevant.
• Coordinate and assist with facilitating focus groups and mock trials.
• Assist in resolution of cases through alternative dispute resolution, such as arbitration and mediation.

Vickie L. Milazzo, RN, MSN, JD is the founder and president of Vickie Milazzo Institute. The New York Times credited her as the pioneer of legal nurse consulting since 1982. She is an Inc. Top 10 Entrepreneur – one of the top entrepreneurs in the nation. She received the Nursing Excellence Award for Advancing the Profession and the Stevie Award (business's Oscar®) as Mentor of the Year. Vickie is the author of Inside Every Woman: Using the 10 Strengths You Didn't Know You Had to Get the Career and Life You Want Now (published 2006 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., now in its fourth printing and ranking in the top 10 percent of all business books being sold).

How have you made a difference as a CLNC^®? Send your story to feedback@LegalNurse.com.

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