I asked our CLNC Pros to share what they would have done differently when launching their CLNC business. They are all successful Certified Legal Nurse Consultants today. Pay attention to what they have to say and your legal nurse consulting success is guaranteed to come easier.
Earlier in the week I was having a skylight repaired in my bathroom. The ceiling is pretty high so it required a long ladder and two repairmen – one to do the work and one to steady the ladder. Naturally the guy holding the ladder got bored quickly and became quite chatty. At one point, apropos of nothing, he mentioned that he couldn’t wait for lunch. I overhead him and asked him if he’d had breakfast (healthy green tea and a healthy breakfast is an important way to start your day.). He told me he’d had a small one – his wife didn’t cook him any bacon to go with his eggs. I replied that he was lucky on two fronts – (1) his wife cooked him breakfast (I was glad Tom didn’t hear him say that) and (2) she’s helping him watch his diet.
I doubt any of us, as CLNC consultants, ever forget our first case. Mine is most memorable for several different reasons. I learned so much, some of it the hard way. I had earned my CLNC Certification a few months earlier and used Vickie’s advice regarding marketing myself by mailing out my resume with my qualifications and a cover letter, then followed up with a phone call. One attorney had a case on his desk, which had been referred to him by another attorney. The case involved a potential client who lived out of state. The attorney drove approximately six hours one way to interview the potential client and his wife. He felt there was probable merit to the case but he needed someone to review the records. He had filed the proper notices to all the possible defendants of a medical malpractice lawsuit.
How do you start your day? Does your breakfast contain a line of pills (and I don’t mean vitamins) longer than your middle finger? If you open your medicine cabinet too quickly is there an “orange avalanche” of pill bottles? Have you succumbed to the slick marketing of pharmaceutical companies like many of my baby boomer friends who daily whip out an array of drugs for restless leg syndrome, elevated cholesterol, reduced bone density and sleep deprivation?
Really, I mean that. Tom says that being around so many nurses has taught him one thing (well, two if you count never turn your back on a proctologist). Hospitals are great places to visit loved ones when you’re well, but they’re a horrible place to be when you’re sick. Studies have shown the longer you’re in a hospital recovering, the more likely you are to develop an infection, iatrogenic injury or even die.
Whether you are screening medical malpractice cases for plaintiff or defense as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant, you should be on the lookout for those obvious meritorious cases. When you see them, the red flags go up as long as there is significant injury or death. For example, maternal death gets everyone’s attention. The plaintiff CLNC® consultant’s response is – this is one the plaintiff attorney should absolutely represent. The defense CLNC® consultant’s initial response is – the defense should settle and settle fast.
Having just been in the ED for 6 hours with a friend, I witnessed firsthand the secondhand, substandard grade the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) has given to the state of emergency care in the U.S.
*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.
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