CLNC® Success Story: I Made My Nursing Career Dreams Come True by Becoming a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant

Last year, I helped with negotiations in a million dollar plus settlement on a brain injury case. This is only one of the 140 legal nurse consultant jobs I’ve consulted on the past few years.

I recently reviewed a personal injury case that resulted in a $20 million settlement. My attorney-client relied on my report and incorporated parts of it verbatim into the settlement negotiation letter that he sent to the defense attorneys. This legal nurse consultant job consisted of thousands of pages of medical records and after sorting through them I then developed a comprehensive report. I was able to locate the specific medical records my attorney-client needed to prove the issues of pain and suffering and mental anguish.

The attorneys I consult with are appreciative and kind. They continually compliment my legal nurse consulting work product describing me as a meticulous and diligent worker, a godsend, authentic, their secret weapon and go to person, and many other positive words of encouragement. They say that in all their years of practice they have never had a legal nurse consultant like me. Another law firm stated that in the 10 years that they’ve been practicing law, they have never encountered a legal nurse consultant quite like me either.

One attorney wrote, “My firm has retained Julia to provide legal nurse consulting services many times in the last five years. The quality and thoroughness of her work product is second to none. She researches issues and prepares chronological timelines. Her ability to take complex and lengthy medical records and distill them down to what’s important, identify issues, and provide support for her conclusions and recommendations is what separates her from other legal nurse consultants. I recommend Julia without reservation. She is a valued addition to any litigation team on medical-related cases.”

Another attorney wrote, “My medical malpractice law firm has worked with 20 plus legal nurse consultants all around the U.S. in search of someone who provides next-level work. When we found Julia, we stopped looking. Every time we send her a case for review, we are wowed by the report we get back. Julia’s attention to detail and the overall quality of her work product is amazing. She’s become an essential part of our litigation team.”

The New York Wall Street attorneys I consult with are so pleased with my work they retain me on many multi-million dollar cases. My consulting fee is $150/hr. and I’m constantly busy. I have surpassed my nursing salary and now have the freedom I never had while working in the hospital. The attorneys never handcuff me and allow me to be as creative with my work as I want. I’m proud of some of the beautiful charts I’ve designed for exhibits during settlement negotiations and trials.

Thank you for teaching me how to become a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant through the CLNC Certification Program. I am so happy to be living my dream. I will never forget the things you’ve said and everything you’ve taught me – you told us to always have integrity when doing business, to never give up and so much more. I took a risk resigning from my position as a lung transplant coordinator at a prestigious hospital (Columbia University Medical Center/ New York Presbyterian Hospital) at the end of 2013. I left my seniority, pension, and everything to reinvent my nursing career as a CLNC consultant. My family couldn’t believe I resigned. I had good and bad days, but I’m not a complainer and I never gave up. I know success is a result of hard work and doesn’t simply land on your desk without putting oneself out there and keeping a positive mindset. I’ve loved the adventures along the way and am always ready for a new challenge. After a good night’s sleep, strenuous workout and a healthy diet, I woke up with a new positive outlook each day and put myself out there until I reached my goals.

My attorney-clients refer to me as a part of their team and their family. They truly appreciate me and I’m so grateful. The last couple of years have been so incredible, but I also feel my entire nursing career has been extraordinary since my first position in 2001 as a cardiac telemetry medical-surgical nurse to a level I trauma ED nurse, then to a surgical ICU nurse while getting my master’s degree in nursing at the same time, and finally landing a great job as a lung transplant coordinator. I am blessed.

One more thing I remembered from the CLNC Certification Program was, “Hey, it’s not cancer” and so I had that in my head and kept moving forward. I have many more multi-million dollar trials and cases to work on now. I made my dreams come true by becoming a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant. This is heaven. I’m so grateful for everything.

Guest Blogger Profile

Julia C. Sze, RN, BS, MS, CLNC owner of Julia Sze & Associates, LLC has more than 18 years’ nursing experience in level I trauma emergency department, surgical critical care, cardiac telemetry, medical-surgical and lung transplant. Julia consults on personal injury and medical malpractice cases for both plaintiff and defense attorneys.

P.S. Comment here to congratulate Julia on her CLNC Success.

P.P.S. Read more CLNC Success Stories and send your CLNC Success Story to [email protected].