Please reach us at jen@consultmynurse.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
A Legal Nurse Consultant (LNC) is a licensed nursing professional who uses their medical expertise to support the legal team in order to build a strong case.
LNCs can perform many services to ensure the legal team has professional support throughout the duration of the case. If your case has medical records, we can analyze them.
An independent LNC has their own business and helps many firms. By working with an independent LNC, you gain access to their whole team of nursing professionals. Because the independent LNC has invested in themselves and their business, their passion for the work is without comparison.
An in-house LNC can become a valued member of the legal team. Most firms are limited to having a single LNC in-house, so you're then limited to their experience and time for all your cases. The in-house LNC is an employee, so their expense is generally not reimbursable from your clients' recoveries.
With both the independent and in-house LNCs, their work is not discoverable as both are utilized as members of the legal team.
Going to a DME is stressful for your clients. Our LNCs will contact your client in advance to develop rapport and instill trust which will put your client at ease going into the exam. We also educate your client on what to expect, what questioning is acceptable and how to answer questions during the exam so as to not contradict deposition.
Having a LNC also helps to maintain the integrity of the exam. We ensure only appropriate questions are asked and the exam is appropriate for the injuries.
Without our presence, physicians may deviate from appropriate questioning. Without an ally in the room, your client may answer these questions or not receive appropriate examination.
1. The LNC works as a consultant, not an employee, so the expense is reimbursable from your recoveries.
2. The quality of work you'll receive will assist with increasing recoveries because you'll have
clear, organized reports and have the red flags identified ahead of time.
3. With the LNC reviewing medical records, your legal team will have more time to take on more
cases. With the LNCs team of nurses, we can handle many cases at once.
Many attorneys assume they are getting the same expertise from an overseas nurse or doctor that they would get in the United States. Their hourly rate is lower, so it appears to save you money. But there is so much missing from their work.
In order to become a licensed physician in the United States, one must complete a 4-year undergraduate program, 4 years in medical school, and another 3-7 years to learn their chosen specialty. In other words, it can take anywhere between 11-15 years to become a physician in the United States.
Let's compare India, as it is a popular choice for medical record review.
In India, one starts with a Bachelor's degree taking 4.5 years of in-class instruction. Then they do one year of generalized internship with patients. At the end of their 5.5 years, they can practice as a doctor. It takes an additional 2 years to be able to carry the credentials of Doctor of Medicine (MD). In other words, it takes 7.5 years to become a specialized physician in India and only one of those years is spent in the presence of patients.
In the US, 70% is a passing grade in most medical schools. In India, the passing grade is 50%.
India produces 50,000 medical graduates yearly. Practicing doctors are legally not allowed to teach, so education is being provided by non-practicing medical graduates. With few employment opportunities for the quantity of medical graduates, they look for other means of making income, like reviewing medical records.
Many of the websites advertising outsourcing medical record review like to highlight that they offer value to legal firms because they have physicians reviewing the medical records. Not knowing any different, our attorneys assume all doctors are created equally. But, in this case, the old adage is true that "You get what you pay for."
In the long run, hiring within the United States will cost you less. The quality of the work more than pays for itself.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.