I recently mentored a new Certified Legal Nurse Consultant who was contacted by a defense attorney for a medical malpractice case. She was questioning whether she should consult with the attorney because in her opinion the defendant nurse had clearly deviated from the recognized standards of care and there was no good news for the defense.
While you might not be giving opinions that are favorable to the case, you can help to identify and understand where the real problem areas are for the attorney. You can educate the defense attorney on the specific nursing deviations from the recognized nursing standards of care and the injuries that resulted from those deviations. The last thing the attorney needs are surprises. You can also look for preexisting conditions or other plaintiff-related issues that might help better defend the case.
Of course it’s essential to be objective and honest on every legal nurse consultant job. Always provide the attorney the good, the bad and the ugly. Working with defense attorneys on tough cases is a huge opportunity. When the attorney sees that you understand how you can help he’ll definitely be back for more – more cases that is. 🙂
Success Is Yours!
P.S. Comment and share how you’ve helped defense attorneys on cases (defensible or indefensible) as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant.
I had one nursing home defense case that was indefensible. The finger pointing was at one nurse who did all things correct, but she was fired. The problem was defending the hospital that was connected to the nursing home which refused to admit this elder to the ER with possible fractures and severe pain. She died 5 days later. The attorney listened to my report about how to look at reasons why the ER could not take her, i.e., life and death situations. I could not find any reason in the medical records, so the attorney decided to settle.