subject: A Certified Legal Nurse Consultant Provides A Winning Edge [print this page] For any medically related litigation, an attorney's best resource is a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant (CLNC). A CLNC is a licensed Registered Nurse who has direct nursing experience as well as completed coursework and comprehensive exams on the legal elements related to medical cases. This specially trained and qualified nurse will provide the expertise needed in the reading and interpretation of medical records as they may relate both directly and indirectly to the facts of a case.
Registered nurses are responsible for direct patient care and as such have experience with creating patient charts and communicating with the other members of the healthcare team, including physicians, therapists, pharmacists, nurses, specialists, and others. They are experienced with understanding a patient's complete chart to enable an analysis and interpretation of procedures, standards, and omissions. This analysis allows a nurse to provide a clear picture of what happened at any given point in the patient's care.
A Certified Legal Nurse Consultant organizes and analyzes medical records with the insight into the inner workings of hospitals and clinics to create an easily understandable narrative or chronological sequence to be used in the litigation process. An investigation will include every aspect of the medical chart for a comprehensive review including laboratory reports, orders, medications, and x-ray reports with a knowledge of hospital procedures, policies, and standards of care. A CLNC has the qualifications and experience to identify instances of deviations from standards of care that may apply to the case.
With the combination of medical expertise and legal understanding, the Legal Nurse Consultant will frequently be able to recognize pertinent facts and issues that are not apparent to those without that medical experience. These skills are valuable for a number of legal applications such as depositions or disclosures, and defense or plaintiff litigation, offering an advantage in a medical related case. They can assist in cases of probate, disability, elder issues, employment wrongful dismissal, insurance issues, fraudulent claims, healthcare professional disciplinary actions, and more.
A Certified Legal Nurse Consultant is a cost-effective and valuable asset to an attorney involved with any legal case having medical elements, from determining the merits of a case through to successful litigation. The CLNC will research and navigate through the large volumes of information and medical language to reveal crucial facts and create usable information with direct application to the case. The expertise provided by a legal nurse is essential to any attorney who is serious about effective advocacy and winning of medical related cases.
