What is a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant^CM?

A:  A Certified Legal Nurse Consultant^TM is a Registered Nurse who assists attorneys, insurance companies, Healthcare facilities and providers, and other companies by reviewing medical records and patient treatment pertinent to a lawsuit.  We at Wuerl Legal Nurse Consulting, LLC work as independent contractors on a case by case basis assisting lawyers who work on any health related cases.  We are brought in on a wide variety of cases to work behind the scenes on personal injury, medical malpractice, workers compensation, criminal, civil cases, product liability, environmental, toxic tort, and sick building syndrome cases, to name a few.

 

Why do attorneys need CLNCs^®?

A:  There were 1,084,504 attorneys in the United States in 2005 and some 25% deal with medically related cases.  They rely on specially trained CLNCs^® to help them build cases for their clients.  While the attorney is the legal expert, the Registered Nurse uses his or her nursing expertise to address the client’s injuries in the case.  We look at the extent and mechanism of the injury, it’s long and short term prognosis, and we address any life style patterns and other diagnoses the client may have that may play a part in those injuries.  As nurses we are aware of the numerous standards of care that exist and alert you when we identify a breech in those standards.  This means that a once simple case is now complicated with medical malpractice issues that need to be addressed.  In situations like this, we will identify who is liable for those mistakes and suggest the appropriate classification of expert witnesses you will need at deposition and trial.

 

Do CLNCs^®  work only for attorneys?

A:  While many CLNCs^® consult independently or work in-house for attorneys, other CLNCs^® provide consulting services to insurance companies, government agencies, hospitals and other healthcare facilities, and risk management departments of non-profit organizations and private corporations.

 

What types of services might a CLNC^® provide?

 A:  Certified Legal Nursing Consultants^® provide thirty services behind the scenes which are helpful to attorney-clients. Some of these services are:

    Screening or investigating cases for merit;

    Defining applicable standards of care;

    Identifying standards that have been breeched;

    Assessing alleged injuries and identifying causative or contributing factors;

    Summarizing, translating, and interpreting medical records using timelines, datelines and in-depth chronologies;

    Identifying potential defendants;

    Identifying and locating potential expert witnesses in the appropriate fields that you may need during deposition and trial;

    Assist with writing deposition questions;

    Researching medical topics relevant to your case;

    Reviewing, analyzing and summarizing depositions;

    Writing reports on our findings.

 

Why should I hire a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant^TM?

A:  There are a number of reasons you should hire a CLNC^® to strengthen your case.

 

EXPERIENCE:  We  have a clinical background and experience which includes interpretation of medical records, documents and medical-legal issues.

 

RESOURCEFULNESS:  We  know our way around the healthcare system, utilize our nursing knowledge and expertise, working within standards of care, and engage the assistance of our professional contacts to get the job done.

 

KNOWLEDGE:  We bring a thorough understanding of medical issues and the nursing trends to the total litigation process.

 

I already have a physician on my team who reviews my cases for me.  Why would I need a Certified Nurse Consultant?

A:  It is great that you have a physician already reviewing records for you.  Physicians attend many years of schooling to specialize in their field of expertise and are very knowledgeable in their day to day role.  However, many physicians review the record in light of their specialty and may not review the nurses’ notes, where most of the answers are found.  Patients usually have numerous physicians providing care for them in the hospital setting, and each of these doctors spend a minimal time reviewing the test they ordered before talking and assessing the patient.  The Registered Nurse, however, is providing care to the patient 24/7, and updates the doctor on the patient’s labs, test results and bio-psycho-social issues pertinent to that physician’s care.  The physician is there only a few minutes, though is available by phone the rest of the time. Therefore, we feel you would be better off having both the physician and the CLNC^®  to strengthen your cases.

 

So, are you a nurse paralegal?

A:  We are Registered Nurses who offer you our nursing knowledge and expertise in order to strengthen you cases.  We took a certification class to learn how to blend our nursing knowledge with the basics of the legal world to assist you on cases that contain health issues, so that you may have more time to work on the legal issues pertinent to the case.  Nurse Paralegals, on the other hand, took on a second career as a paralegal, and though they may spend some time answering questions regarding the medical issues on a case, their primary responsibility is now focusing on the legal tasks assigned to them by their employer.

 

What makes Wuerl Legal Nurse Consultants stand out from the other CLNC firms?

A:  Our nurses have a variety of backgrounds to assist you with your cases.  Our owner has experience in Long Term Care, Rehabilitation and Sub Acute Rehabilitation, Home Care, Hospice, private and public sector insurance, Long Term Acute Care Hospitals and agency nursing, focusing on the geriatric population.   She opened a home care agency in Milwaukee focusing on the Southeastern Asian population, and the agency received its certification through Medicare and Medicaid within two months after Debbie took that position.  Debbie has extensive knowledge of the federal and state guidelines as well as the numerous standards of care that are followed in these settings.  We also have access to a large number of nurses in other specialties when we are faced with situations that are outside our field of expertise.

 

How many nurse consultants will be assigned to my case?

A:  We will assign the appropriate number of consultants to guarantee quality while meeting your deadline.  No job is too big or too small.

 

Where did you receive you training as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant?

A:  We are graduates of the Vickie Milazzo Institute located in Houston Texas, and are active members in the National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants, the largest group of CLNCs^® in the country.

 

Is your work guaranteed?

A:  Yes.  We have a risk free guarantee, meaning if you have concerns about our work product with in the first seven days after we complete a portion of the project, we will re-do it to your satisfaction with no additional charge to you.