FAQ

                                                FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

WHAT IS A LNC?

The Legal Nurse Consultant is a licensed, registered nurse who performs a critical analysis of clinical and administrative nursing practice, healthcare facts and issues and their outcomes for the legal profession, healthcare professions, consumers of healthcare and legal services, and others are appropriate.  With a strong educational and experiential foundations, the legal nurse consultant is qualified to assess adherence to standards and guidelines of healthcare practice as it applies to the nursing and healthcare professions.

WHAT MAKES A LEGAL NURSE CONSULTANT DISTINCT?

As licensed registered nurses, legal nurse consultants bring specialized healthcare education and clinical experience to the medically related issues of the litigation process.  This education and experience distinguishes legal nurse consultants from paralegals and legal assistants and provides the foundation of the legal nurse consultant's ability to recognize, interpret an analyze all relevant medically related information in a claim or case. 

WHERE DOES A LEGAL NURSE CONSULTANT PRACTICE?

As a liaison between the legal and the health care communities as well as the consumer, the legal nurse consultant can practice in a variety of settings including:

• Law Firms
• Government Offices
• Insurance Companies
• Hospital Risk Management Departments
• Forensic Environments
• Consulting Firms
• HMOs
• Self Employed Independent Practices

WHAT DOES A LEGAL NURSE CONSULTANT DO?

• Acts a a liaison with attorneys, physicians, and clients
• Educates attorneys regarding medical facts and issues relating to a case or claim
• Researches applicable literature and evidence to determine the merits of a case
• Reviews and analyzes documents and compares them to the allegations
• Summarizes medical literature
• Screens for record tampering
• Defines and evaluates the standards of care practices
• Evaluates the possible breach of duty on the part of the healthcare practitioner or facility
• Prepares persuasive graphic exhibits for trial
• Interviews witnesses and involved parties
• Prepares witness and exhibit lists
• Assesses issue of damage and causation
• Identifies and retains expert witnesses
• Assists in obtaining medical records and identifying missing records
• Organizes medical records and other medically-related litigation materials
• Prepares chronologies of medical events and correlates them to the allegations
• Develops collaborative case strategies with those practicing within the legal system
• Provides support during discovery, depositions, trial, and other legal proceedings.