Why should I hire a consulting nurse in addition to a potential testifying nurse or testifying physician ?
A consulting nurse works behind the scenes and provides a wide range of services in a cost-effective manner. A consulting nurse assists plaintiff attorneys to save money by weeding out weak cases at the early stage, prior to retaining the more costly services of testifying experts. A consulting nurse assists defense attorneys in spotting trouble cases early on to identify defensible issues, so that attorneys can settle cases early if appropriate. A consulting nurse's review and analysis may eliminate the need for you to hire more expensive testifying experts. If testifying experts are needed, the consulting nurse's findings can assist you to identify the specific types of experts needed and the issues experts need to focus on (refer to Testimonials page for evidence of this).
Why should I pay a nurse consultant when I already know that I need a testifying physician? I only use physicians.
A consulting nurse reviews every page of records. Physicians typically review only the parts related to their specialty. Most nurses with hospital experience will tell you that physicians rarely read nurses' documentation or that of other professional healthcare groups. An experienced consulting nurse looks for missing records, missing links, potential tampering. A consulting nurse has more experience reviewing voluminous printouts of electronic medical records and can provide more detail related to medical and nursing issues. A consulting nurse is able to research the scientific literature related to the specific case more cost-effectively than expensive physician experts.
Why should I pay a nurse consultant when I already have a paralegal?
A legal nurse consultant provides in-depth medical and nursing case analysis and blends this with legal causation. A paralegal typically does not provide that level of analysis. A legal nurse consultant conducts research related to medical issues and applies research findings to the specific case. A legal nurse consultant is able to determine whether research information is authoritative and valid. A paralegal typically does not provide that level of analysis of research. Paralegal training focuses on the legal aspects of case analysis; legal nurse consulting education and certification focuses on incorporating the nurse's professional healthcare experience and knowledge in order to assist attorneys with a multitude of healthcare issues within the legal arena.
I am an experienced attorney and have been reviewing records for many years. Why do I need a nurse consultant?
Many attorneys, even experienced ones, are not familiar with how a legal nurse consultant can assist them behind the scenes. Due to tort reform in several states, plaintiff attorneys increasingly need to understand the medical details of cases prior to (potentially) accepting cases and retaining experts. A behind the scenes legal nurse consultant can save you money, especially the costs related to expensive testifying experts. A consulting legal nurse may eliminate the need for testifying experts or may decrease testifying experts' billable hours by already researching and defining medical aspects and issues.
LASH & Associates certified legal nurse consultants provide case specific services based on your budget, thus giving you more time to focus on the legal issues. Often it only takes the assistance of a legal nurse consultant on one case for an attorney to conclude that consulting services are cost-effective and