Legal Nurse Consultant Turns Thousands of Pages of Records Into "A
Picture"
When an attorney takes on a medical-related lawsuit, the
attorney is confronted with enormous volumes of medical records crammed with
esoteric terminology, inexplicable shorthand and indecipherable
handwriting.
Yet his client's (plaintiff or defense)
future depends on the attorney's understanding of those records and using them
to support the case effectively.
That's why Certified Legal Nurse Consultant services are
the healthiest thing that will ever happen to an attorney's
practice.
Total confidence in the services and support provided by
a legal nurse consultant is especially important when taking on a formidable
opponent, such as a major international corporation. Bob Young, an attorney with
English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, a major personal injury firm in south central
Kentucky, faced this challenge when he accepted the case of Heather
Norman.*
In 2001, the 12-year-old was severely burned in a motor
vehicle accident that killed her mother and brother. "The truck's side-saddle
gasoline tanks exploded upon impact," Young says, "leaving Heather with second and
third degree burns over 25% of her body, including her back, chest, arms, hands and
face. She had three surgeries to receive skin grafts and underwent numerous other
medical procedures. She spent three weeks in the hospital, plus more than a month
as an out patient receiving daily wound care and occupational therapy." Young filed
a products liability suit against the truck manufacturer on Heather's
behalf.
Medical cases like this can generate thousands of pages
of records. "If I try to sift through the records and put together a summary," says
Young, "it might or might not be accurate. I'm not trained in the medical
field.
It makes sense to have someone with
medical training go through the records and decipher the important
information."
Tip! Most medical malpractice
cases legal nurse consultants consult on involve significant economic damages, such
as medical expenses and lost earning capacity. These high-dollar cases will
continue to keeplegal nurse consultants busy.
Young uses the services of Gina Rogers, RN, CLNC for
cases like Heather's. "My assignment," says Rogers, "was to document this child's
pain and suffering. In addition to summarizing the records, I decided 'a picture is
worth a thousand words.' I created a detailed graph of her body indicating all the
burns and skin grafts. My completed graph showed that there was hardly an undamaged
place on her body."
"Two major factors in this case," says Young, "were the
enormous pain and suffering Heather had to deal with and the problems she would
face in the future. Gina set forth all the pain medications my client received
during the three weeks she was in the hospital. Gina also prepared a detailed list
of Heather's potential future health problems."
Instead of sending the defendant thousands of pages of
medical records, Young sent them Gina's report, including the dramatic graph of the
plaintiff's injuries. "Gina's work was a significant part of the settlement
brochure," he says. The case settled for an undisclosed amount.
Consulting an Independent Certified
Legal Nurse Consultant Is Like Having a Nurse on Staff Without the Full-time
Expense - For the last three years Young has used
Rogers' services on almost every medical-related case. "It's like having a nurse on
staff without the full-time expense," he says. "The most important thing Gina does
is help me screen each case to see if it's worth taking. In every medical
malpractice case you have to retain a medical doctor to testify to the standards of
care. After Gina reviews the case, we discuss whether to retain a very expensive
MD. Often we decide not to take that next step. If we do take the case, Gina has a
network of doctors so she helps me find the expert, too."
*Name has been changed.
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