I have been very fortunate to meet a group of Legal Nurse Consultants whose passion, knowledge and expertise are of great benefit to my clients and my Personal Injury Law Practice. As you may or may not know, I represent people who have been injured in a myriad of different ways -- vehicular accidents, slip and falls, dog/animal bites or attacks, assault and battery, defective products /product liability and more.
In order to best represent my clients, I need to have a complete understanding of all aspects of their case including, of course, the injuries that they sustained as a result of the incident for which I'm representing them. A complete review and analysis of their past and present (and sometimes voluminous) medical records is a major component of the case and it is often through the assistance of a Legal Nurse Consultant that this gets accomplished.
Therefore, I'm thrilled to post the following article by Guest Blogger, Pat Lewis, a Registered Nurse and Legal Nurse Consultant.
Guest Blogger Pat Lewis, RN, LHRM
How Can a Legal Nurse Consultant (LNC) Help to Evaluate your Personal Injury Case?
1. Are the injuries sustained consistent with
the type of collision described and the client’s position in the vehicle? Restrained vs. unrestrained, driver vs.
passenger. Each type of impact can
result in its own specific set of injuries.
Review the ER records and
2. Does the client have any preexisting conditions or injuries similar to the current injuries or symptoms? Review medical records and history, even just a list of current medications can give an insight into chronic medical conditions, look for tests or x-ray’s previously ordered as well as any billing/insurance payments on chart.
3. When did the client first seek treatment? Are they compliant with treatment? Any gaps in treatment? Review the health care provider’s documentation, i.e., Physical Therapy.
4. Identify crucial missing records.
5. Identify medical experts needed.
6. Attend Independent Medical Examinations.
The LNC can make a chronology and
narrative summary in accordance to the attorney preference, research literature
regarding the issues of causation and damages. Additionally, the LNC can
educate the attorney and staff regarding medical conditions, anatomy and physiology,
injuries suffered by the plaintiff, obtain or create teaching materials.
These are just a few of the benefits of using an LNC in Personal Injury litigation; there may be other roles in which they can assist the attorney by request. The LNC can be an asset in all other types of cases that are medically related, not solely in Medical Malpractice.
How can a Legal Nurse Consultant help your practice?
Pat Lewis, RN, LHRM
Legal Nurse Consultant
Licensed Healthcare Risk Manager
Thank you, Pat, for your well-written and thoughtful article.
If you, or someone you know, has been injured in an accident, please contact me immediately at
(323) 852-1100
lowell@steigerlaw.com
Skype (with or without video): Lowell_Steiger
"Treated With the Respect That You Deserve"
Lowell,
Thank you for acknowledging legal nurse consultants and the important role we have in assisting lawyers like yourself.
Very Truely Yours,
Evelyn A. Moreland RN, CLNC
Posted by: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1631512769 | October 11, 2009 at 06:59 PM