B.Cole Legal Nurse Consultant INC.
Beverly Cole, RN NACC CLNC
Legal Nurse Consultant
P.O. Box 507
Snellville, GA 30078
770-466-8583
"The legal nurse consultant is a licensed registered nurse who performs a critical analysis of healthcare facts and issues and their outcomes for the legal profession, healthcare professions, and others as appropriate. With a strong educational and experiential background, the legal nurse consultant is qualified to assess adherence to standards of healthcare practice as it applies to the nursing and healthcare professions."
American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (AALNC)
"CLNC" - A Certified Legal Nurse Consultant is a professional who can help you in the following areas:
Screen or investigate medical malpractice cases for merit
Define the applicable Standards of Care.
Define deviations from and adherence to, the applicable
Standards of Care.
Organize and paginate medical records.
Summarize, translate and interrpret medical records
Locating of Experts
Identify and reccomend potential defendants
Develope Life care Plans
Cases in which Legal Nurse Consultants are qualified to consult on:
Negligence
Product Liability
Health, Illness or Injury Issues
Workers' Compensation and Workplace Injury
Risk Management
Toxic Torts and Environmental
Criminal
Medical (consulting expert only) and Nursing Malpractice
Because Legal Nurse Consultants are familiar with medical (consulting expert only) and related issues, they are an excellent resource who are:
Cost Effective Resourceful
Knowledgeable Experienced
What is a Legal Nurse Consultant?
What does being "certified" mean?
When would I hire a Legal Nurse Consultant?
Why a Nurse and not a Doctor?
What are Standards of Care?
Is this a new career for you? Will I have to train you?
Why not use a paralegal?
What is the benefit for the attorney?
„Y What is a Legal Nurse Consultant?
A legal nurse consultant is a Registered Nurse who, by virtue of specialization and expertise, provides her/his clients with qualified opinions based on standards of care, interpretation of medical records, research, and experience in healthcare on medical-legal issues.
„Y What does being "certified" mean?
The Certification entails extensive medical-legal training and successfully completing a certification exam.
„Y When would I hire a Legal Nurse Consultant?
You would hire a LNC when you require a professional to conduct a thorough analysis of medical records, provide in-depth research of relevant information, and provide additional services, enabling you to focus on the legal aspects of the case.
„Y Why a Nurse and Not a Doctor?
A Legal Nurse Consultant (LNC) will save you time and money by identifying and weeding out non-meritorious cases, and by expediting the review in meritorious cases. Using a MD only gives you half of the picture, as the nurses are the primary care givers and are in constant contact with the patients. This entails performing ongoing reviews of patient's charts and consulting with other healthcare team members in reassessing, implementing and reevaluating the course of the patient's progress throughout their hospitalization. Nurses are more knowledgeable of hospital policies and inside events than MD's. MD's cannot speak on behalf of a nurse when it comes to nursing related issues or standards of care. A nurse can give you vital information in terms that you can understand.
„Y What are Standards of Care?
By definition, "A Standard of Care holds a person of exceptional skill or knowledge to a duty of acting as would a reasonable and prudent person possessing the same or similar skills or knowledge under the same or similar circumstances."
„h Example: Peripheral intra-venous sites, according to standards, need to be changed every 72 hours, or as needed. Deviation from this can cause severe tissue damage and infection. Most patients are not aware of this fact. It is up to the nurse taking care of the patient to take charge of complying with this duty.
„Y Is this a new career for you? Will I have to train you?
The answer to both questions is, no. This is an extension of my career. I have decided to use all my nursing knowledge and expertise to educate my clients and enable them to have a better understanding of the medical and nursing fields, which in turn will help the attorney, develop and decipher their case.
„Y Why not use a paralegal?
Law firms under the supervision of licensed attorneys employ a paralegal, whereas LNC's work independently. A paralegal's job is to perform legal office work and they typically are not trained in medical terminology, medical procedures, hospital practices or standards of care. A LNC performs the medical and nursing research with an expertise, which a paralegal is incapable of providing.
„Y What is the benefit for the attorney?
Nurse consultants offer a new scope and set of expertise to assist in the effective development of your cases. I can help you understand nursing concepts that a MD cannot because MD's are not fully aware of what the nurse's job actually entails. Another added benefit is that a LNC is more accessible to you than a MD. If you already have nurses working for you, I can also act as a supplemental resource to assist with any special requests or additional work your case may require.