Excellent article. I like your correlations and truths about our Core Curriculum textbook. I specifically like your comment about being truthful with attorneys. I met with an attorney this past fall and he talked about “wanting an objective point of view” with his case. Offering our objective point of view to attorneys is one of our keys to success, just like Vickie talks about in the Core Curriculum.

My first case happened in a funny way, which just proves that you have to be ready for an opportunity when it occurs or it will pass you by.

I was working for a case management company when I received this email that was sent to the group. “Does anyone know what a toxic tort is?” Oh my! I quickly replied to the email.

They quickly responded, “You have the job…call this attorney; he needs someone to review several files.” And so it was, several files and years later, I learned to research, take phone calls in the middle of the night for docketed cases that were going to mediation the next day, I learned what the attorneys needed to pursue their cases and exactly how to formulate a summary to make the greatest impact. Chronologies became a way of life with lists of the key players, the facts pointing to the issues. The attorneys on the cases were just so impressed with everything the nurses provided! It was fun, exciting and the opportunity came from out of the blue!

Nurses devote so much of their lives to integrity and hard work; I think it is the “nature of the beast” in each of us to provide a job well done. Training is everything though. An attorney (Vickie) taught me and I felt that she provided the foundation I needed to answer that email.

I have never looked back and each case I have taken from that point on just improved my skill. A self assuredness from the nurse in her knowledge is what wins the attorney’s trust. But when you can back up that knowledge with documented meritorious information, you then become irreplaceable.

My first case came from an attorney who found me from the NACLNC^® Directory! I was so excited. It was for a defense attorney wanting me to be a testifying expert. I was nervous about that. Most of our communication was verbal. I reviewed the depositions of all parties. The Core was my saving grace.

The case was about a home health aide who had been in the home two days helping with transfers and personal care. It was to be determined if she was adequately trained to be a HHA and if she was responsible for fractured leg due to fall in the home during a transfer. After reading the records that were sent, it was clear that this person had been dropped by her brother multiple times and EMS had been called to pick her up. The time of the injury didn’t match with the c/o pain and swelling with the severity of the fracture. I found enough evidence in the records to doubt the causation issue. I felt bad that the injury had occurred. There was documentation that the caregiver/brother had been told at some point by a PT that a hoyer lift should be used in the home as this patient could not always pivot transfer – they declined. They were also supposed use a gait belt or transfer board – not done.

Long story short, the attorney thanked me for my work as the settled instead of going to trial.

It’s fun being a detective!

With all this support, I was able to confidently present my screening, produce a 40-page chronology and review the original records at the defense firm. This case is now slated for trial this summer, and I know I will have no difficulty providing great work with the help from Vickie!

No other legal nurse consulting program supports us the way Vickie, her staff and CLNC^® Mentors support us. If I had chosen a different path to consulting, I would not be successful today. I am a SUCESSFUL CLNC^® consultant!!!

An attorney had a personal injury case in which she wanted the medical records reviewed for possible malpractice. I attended the client interview and was able to educate the attorney about issues that she was not aware of like life care planning, vocational evaluations and job placement issues. This particular case involved an MRSA infection contracted during outpatient therapy. The original work injury required knee surgery to repair torn tendons. In this case, as with yours, there was no causation. I almost felt like I was giving the wrong answer to the attorney. But she was impressed that I could explain that the causal link was just not satisfied. Like you, I relied on the Core and the CLNC^® Mentors.

My mistake was not getting a referral letter from this attorney before she moved. I worked on five cases for her in about an eight month period. On a follow-up call that I made to her, she told me she was closing her office. Two weeks later, her office was empty and I had no contact information.

The blog the other day about what to include in a referral letter for an attorney was a reminder of the referral letter that I let get away. If an attorney is ranting and raving about how he or she is pleased with your work and knowledge, ask if you can have it in writing. If he or she is too busy, offer to write it for them.

P.S. Peggy, my most memorable time at the 2009 NACLNC^® Conference in San Antonio was eating barbeque at a Riverwalk cafe with you and several other CLNC^® consultants while you shared with us your most memorable case and “the rest of the story.” You were a maverick and stuck to your guns! We all laughed and had a good time when we walked back to the Marriot in the rain (my husband still talks about it). Thanks Vickie for making these memories possible for us!