Standards are changing so rapidly that a great deal of confusion swirls about the role of a legal nurse consultant (LNC) and a paralegals or legal assistant. This occurs in some settings because an LNC might perform many of the same tasks a paralegal or legal assistant does, especially in smaller law offices where the LNC is the only resource available to the attorneys.
In many instances, paralegal or legal assistant educational programs are comprised of only a few months coursework after high school that is focused primarily on legal procedures and paperwork, and does not provide the nursing or medical background needed to perform complex tasks such as:
- determining if the proper medical records have been kept, or
- identifying the correct Standards of Care (SOC) that should have been adhered to, or
- assessing the future cost of care of a specific medical condition.
A legal nurse consultant can perform the above and many other tasks at costs much lower than those of a physician.
It is precisely because of the above differences in education and experience that the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (AALNC) has defined legal nurse consulting as a specialty nursing practice, i.e., that legal nurse consulting education should be considered as something much more than a paralegal or legal assistant.
Attorneys consult with engineers, psychologists, accountants, and others because of their expertise in their respective professions. Consulting with LNCs falls into the same category because of the LNC's expertise in nursing and healthcare, and the many legal advantages the LNC can bring to the table. Most LNCs have a bachelor's degree in nursing at minimum, and many have advanced degrees in nursing and other health-related or educational fields. (Ideally, because of the need to find expert witnesses, many of which are in the academic world, or to prepare presentation aids or in some other way EDUCATE a jury, degrees in both education and nursing are desirable.) Some LNCs are independent consultants, while others are employed by law firms and other organizations in a wide variety of roles.
Future issues of LNC UpDate will examine the benefits of LNCs and paralegals in particular situations, so bookmark this page now!
LNC Selection
An often overlooked fact is the obvious: the primary function of a legal nurse consultant (LNC) is to provide information that helps the attorney obtain a successful outcome in each case. The part that is overlooked is that this function requires much more than clinical experience and the ability to interpret medical records, documents, and other related medical-legal issues. It REQUIRES the ability to put complex medical-legal concepts into a format understandable by a jury usually comprised of non-medical people. This EDUCATION and COMMUNICATION of key points to a jury, helping to ensure a successful outcome in each client case, are the real benefits of having a qualified LNC on your side.
The LNC best for a particular case is the firm or individual most capable of accurately IDENTIFYING and communicating the major key advantage points pertinent to that specific case using easily understood language, presentation aids, and other tools. An LNC ideal for one case may not be suited to the next. This is because there are so many different specialties in the medical-nursing arena, and utilizing an LNC with knowledge in just a few areas of practice can be self-defeating to your case.
When the caseload is highly variable the best LNC is one that has many contacts in BOTH the nursing and educational arenas. This enables attorneys to develop that LNC as a resource capable of drawing on a large pool of qualified experts from many different sources, making the location of highly credible expert witnesses very fast and efficient. This same LNC resource can also draw upon their own or outside educational experts to determine the best way to present any findings in the courtroom. Legal nurse consulting is much more than simply analyzing medical records for correctness, or locating an expert witness. A good legal nurse consultant must be able to efficiently package and manage the relevant information gleaned from medical records analysis in such a way that it provides the most help in achieving a successful outcome in the case. An example of a LNC who offers good educational and communications expertise in addition to an in-depth nursing background is NJMRR.
Future issues of LNC UpDate will examine how to select an LNC for particular situations, so bookmark this page now!
Specific LNC Benefit Examples
This new section will illustrate examples of advantages brought to a specific situation by LNC services in future editions. Keep this page bookmarked!
How to Reach NJMRR
Telephone: 201-664-0560
Fax: 201-664-5951
Email:
info@lnc-legal-nurse-consultants.com
