1.  What Is A Legal Nurse Consultant?

A legal nurse consultant takes on a variety of roles to bring their nursing knowledge to bear on legal problems. A common role is reviewing medical records for an attorney to help them decide whether professional negligence occurred in a given case. Disability or Workers' Compensation cases may require a similar review. The consultant might help the attorney prepare for a deposition of the plaintiff or the physician, perhaps by familiarizing them with medical or nursing terminology. Finally, the legal nurse consultant can testify as an expert witness at a trial.

Any legal case involving medical issues creates mountains of information difficult for a non-healthcare professional to understand. "Did my client get the right antibiotic? Was this surgery necessary? Why did my client get 0.9% NaCl I.V. and not .45% NaCl I.V.? Why did the nurse do that?" The LNC provides an insiders perspective on the practices and procedures of the healthcare industry as well as an in-depth understanding of the medical facts and patient care issues.

Professional LNC Services:

• Charts review

• Library search

• Depositions

• Video depositions

• Expert testimony

• Trial

• Support services

• All other consults

• Cancellation fee

• Expert referral service

• Retainer amount

2.  Why Do Attorneys Need A Legal Nurse Consultant?

According to the Houston Chronicle, of the 1,084,504 attorneys in practice, 25% deal with medical-related cases. They rely on specially trained LNCs to help them win cases for their clients.

Few attorneys know how to read medical records or understand the terminology and subtleties of healthcare issues. While the attorney is the expert on legal issues, the LNC is the expert on nursing and the inner workings of the healthcare system.

As a LNC, we apply our knowledge of medical, nursing and health-related issues to make the attorney's job easier, more efficient and more effective. Our professional expertise as an RN and a LNC qualifies us to review and interpret relevant medical records, prepare chronologies, screen medical-related cases, assist with discovery and provide dozens of other services.


3.  Do Legal Nurse Consultants Work Only For Attorneys?

No, while many LNCs consult independently or work in-house for attorneys, other LNCs provide consulting services to insurance companies, government agencies and private corporations. The services and coverage we provide in these areas are unlimited.


4.  Are Legal Nurse Consultant Bound By Confidentiality?

As professionals, LNC’s follow their medical ethics of confidentiality as well as the ethics of the ABA.