Welcome to Wake Nurse Consulting! I am excited to add this blog feature to my website and what better way to get it started than a post about what Legal Nurse Consulting is.
A legal nurse consultant (LNC) is a registered nurse who uses their existing expertise as a healthcare professional plus specialized training to consult on medical-related cases on an hourly fee basis. Few attorneys know how to read medical records or understand the terminology and subtleties of healthcare issues to achieve the best results for their clients. An LNC bridges that gap in the attorney’s knowledge. While the attorney is the expert on legal issues, the LNC is the expert on nursing, the healthcare system and its inner workings.
According to IBISWorld, in 2015 there were approximately 93,000 personal injury in the U.S. These attorneys rely on specially trained legal nurse consultants to help them win their cases.
Who are Legal Nurse Consultants?
Legal nurse consultants live all over the U.S., rural or urban. Many LNCs are still working full or part-time at their regular nursing jobs in hospitals, doctor’s office or outpatient surgery centers. While some LNCs have a critical care or medical-surgical background, others come from specialty areas such as labor and delivery or orthopedics.
Some legal nurse consultants provide healthcare expertise for insurance companies, utilization review firms, government agencies, private corporations and hospitals both as staff members and consultants. Other LNCs are self-employed and work for lawyers across the country on a contract basis. The legal nurse consulting profession allows nurses many options for establishing a satisfying and profitable part-time or full-time consulting career.
What services do Legal Nurse Consultants Provide?
Legal nurse consultant services include assisting with discovery; conducting research; reviewing medical records; identifying standards of care; preparing reports and summaries on the extent of injury or illness; attending Independent or Defense Medical Exams; and locating expert witnesses. Although most legal nurse consultants work behind the scenes, they may also serve as expert witnesses. The legal nurse consultant acts as a specialized member of the litigation team whose professional contributions are often critical to achieving a fair and just outcome for all parties.
Types of Clients Who Need Legal Nurse Consultants:
- Attorneys (plaintiff and defense)
- Insurance companies
- Healthcare facilities
- Other legal nurse consultants and medical-legal consultants (plaintiff and defense)
- Government agencies
- Private corporations (e.g., for developing corporate strategies for quality assurance, risk identification and management, evaluation and control of loss exposure)
Have further questions about how a legal nurse consultant help in your law firm? Contact me at amy@wakenurseconsulting.com