If you’re considering a potential personal injury case, you have a lot of questions and you’re experiencing a lot of stress. This is true whether you’re the victim of medical malpractice or a loved one has sustained permanent catastrophic injuries or death due to negligence. Regardless of the situation, choosing the right legal team to represent you is an important first decision. You want a team that has the knowledge, resources, and proven track record needed to represent you. One very valuable resource is a legal nurse consultant.
What is a legal nurse consultant?
A legal nurse consultant is a registered nurse who works as a consultant for the medical aspects of a potential case. Many law firms employ a legal nurse consultant either as an in-house staff member or an independent contractor to assist with various aspects of personal injury cases. Their input and experience with the medical profession, including reviewing medical records, are often essential resources in cases involving nursing home neglect, medical malpractice, birth injuries, and more.
What does a legal nurse consultant do?
Legal nurse consultants can act as advisors, researchers, or other roles a personal injury case might require. By using a nurse consultant, firms can often save their clients time and money by letting them review records, create chronologies, organize medical records, and perform research pertaining to a specific medical issue. Not every legal nurse consultant performs the same duties, and a great consultant adapts to fit the needs of a case. Let’s explore a few of the skills that make these consultants so valuable.
A legal nurse consultant can provide crucial insights into medical records
The ability to form a deep understanding of medical records is essential to building a personal injury case. Many firms become adept at reviewing medical records, especially those that specialize in personal injury cases, but having a legal nurse consultant on as an available resource can take the understanding and interpretation of these medical records to the next level.
A legal nurse consultant has the education and experience needed for a well-informed approach to medical records. The nurse consultant and legal team can discuss these records to help with the evaluation, analysis, preparation, and prosecution of your case.
Legal nurse consultants may have years of hands-on experience in the medical field
Many legal nurse consultants have had many years of experience applying their education in the real world. This experience allows them to provide insights into the practical application of medicine, not just the theory. Being privy to this information makes their analysis of a case invaluable.
Legal nurse consultants make excellent medical researchers
In some cases, interpreting medical records requires medical research. Legal nurse consultants are the perfect professionals to dig deep into medical materials about relevant diseases, disorders, or procedures. Frequently, they are able to use their knowledge to help them do necessary research as efficiently as possible.
You need the best possible team for your personal injury case
If you think you have a case involving medical malpractice, nursing home neglect, birth injury, or wrongful death, the use of a skilled and experienced legal nurse consultant as a member of your legal team is invaluable.
Maples, Nix & Diesselhorst is privileged to have Jerry Wainscott, BSN, RN, Nurse Consultant, as our legal nurse consultant. Jerry is a crucial resource to our practice area teams, especially our medical malpractice and nursing home teams. Having experience working in hospitals, nursing homes, and other institutions as a nurse, he now dedicates his time, experience, and knowledge to working with our legal team.
Cody Roberson, a member of our nursing home team, summed up the benefits of having a legal nurse consultant best when he said the following: “Jerry’s knowledge is integral to the way I practice law.”
Regardless of whether he’s in a deposition or in the office, Roberson is always looking to Jerry’s real-life insights into the healthcare field, because, in his own words, “I’ll never have first-hand knowledge of a real healthcare setting like someone who has actually practiced in that setting.”
The more team members, the better
At Maples, Nix & Diesselhorst we take the team approach. Each member of our team brings their knowledge and experience to the table, ready to represent you. Fortunately, that includes the resource of a legal nurse consultant.
As a result, the Maples, Nix, and Diesselhorst team has a proven track record of success. You can feel assured we’re working hard and standing with you, so you can focus your time and energy on recovery.
If you or a loved one thinks they have a potential personal injury case, contact MND today for a free consultation.
