The Certified Legal Nurse Consultant’s Role in Talc Powder Lawsuits
Baby powder is safe for babies… and if it’s safe for babies it must be safe for adults – at least that’s what we’ve all been led to believe. After all, your grandmother used it on your mother, your mother used it on you and you’ve used it on your babies. But a products liability case alleges that using baby powder containing talc for feminine hygiene purposes can cause the development of ovarian cancer.
If terms like strict liability, defect, failure to warn and breach of warranty frighten you – don’t despair! That’s the attorney’s job, not yours as the Certified Legal Nurse Consultant.
So, what is your role as a CLNC® consultant in a talc powder lawsuit? You will focus on the damages, which in this case is death from ovarian cancer. You will appropriately educate your attorney-client about everything there is to know about ovarian cancer.
As a CLNC consultant you will also focus on causation issues. You can research the relationship between talc powder and ovarian cancer. For example, genital use of talc powder has been classified as a possible carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (part of the World Health Organization). Both the plaintiff and defense attorneys would benefit from knowing this fact.
Whether working as a legal nurse consultant for the plaintiff or defense, you would assess the plaintiff’s medical records for risk factors such as family history, presence of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations that may have contributed to the ovarian cancer.
These are just a few examples of the issues you can consult on, but with estimates of more than 10,000 cases of talc-related ovarian cancer a year, CLNC consultants would be smart to get prepared to participate in these cases.
I’m Just Sayin’
P.S. Comment and share your experiences in talc powder lawsuits or in other types of products liability cases.
One thought on “The Certified Legal Nurse Consultant’s Role in Talc Powder Lawsuits”
Exactly. Get that research going. There are numerous great research articles out there to brush up on your oncology nursing. But as Vickie notes the attorneys have a large part to play; but they need Certified Legal Nurse Consultants to peruse through medical records, pathology reports, laboratory reports, etc. Don’t forget you need those slides from the surgery where the TVH/TAH/BSO was performed. These will need to be preserved so that the pathologist can look at them and see if he/she can prove that the talc particles are seen in the slides of the ovaries. The products being investigated (at this point anyway) are Johnson and Johnson baby powder and Shower to Shower (also J&J). There are many thousands of women out there who use baby powder on a regular basis. And move to summers in the south and even more women are using the powder regularly and often. In any event, there are attorneys that are working on these cases, formulating strategy and they will need great Certified Legal Nurse Consultants like the ones who are educated by LegalNurse.com. So put on your thinking caps, do your research, pick up the phones and pound the pavement (if you have to). Have a dialogue with any attorney, law clerk, paralegal who will listen. A good “in” is bringing treats. It’s the holidays, who doesn’t love a big plate of homemade cookies, brownies, etc.? Also something fun to think about is a bakery that will write something on the cookie or brownie. Why not come up with a catchy line and your information. They are certainly going to read it before eating it; and trust me they will remember you. Anyway, get your foot in the door and this is a gold mine of cases. You won’t just be needed for one case as most firms have “many” cases. This is a Product Liability / Mass Tort that will keep your busy for a “long” time. Go get ‘em CLNC® consultants. Remember you can do anything. Thanks for getting the word out there Vickie.
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The National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants (NACLNC®) is the largest and oldest association of legal nurse consultants.
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*The opinions and statements made by Vickie Milazzo, the founder of Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc. are based on her experiences and expertise, should not be applied beyond the specific context provided, and do not guaranty or project actual results. Vickie Milazzo is no longer involved in the operations or management of the business, but is involved as an independent education consultant.
Exactly. Get that research going. There are numerous great research articles out there to brush up on your oncology nursing. But as Vickie notes the attorneys have a large part to play; but they need Certified Legal Nurse Consultants to peruse through medical records, pathology reports, laboratory reports, etc. Don’t forget you need those slides from the surgery where the TVH/TAH/BSO was performed. These will need to be preserved so that the pathologist can look at them and see if he/she can prove that the talc particles are seen in the slides of the ovaries. The products being investigated (at this point anyway) are Johnson and Johnson baby powder and Shower to Shower (also J&J). There are many thousands of women out there who use baby powder on a regular basis. And move to summers in the south and even more women are using the powder regularly and often. In any event, there are attorneys that are working on these cases, formulating strategy and they will need great Certified Legal Nurse Consultants like the ones who are educated by LegalNurse.com. So put on your thinking caps, do your research, pick up the phones and pound the pavement (if you have to). Have a dialogue with any attorney, law clerk, paralegal who will listen. A good “in” is bringing treats. It’s the holidays, who doesn’t love a big plate of homemade cookies, brownies, etc.? Also something fun to think about is a bakery that will write something on the cookie or brownie. Why not come up with a catchy line and your information. They are certainly going to read it before eating it; and trust me they will remember you. Anyway, get your foot in the door and this is a gold mine of cases. You won’t just be needed for one case as most firms have “many” cases. This is a Product Liability / Mass Tort that will keep your busy for a “long” time. Go get ‘em CLNC® consultants. Remember you can do anything. Thanks for getting the word out there Vickie.