Involve Your Medical Experts Early For Optimum Case Outcomes
“I Probably Should Have Contacted You Sooner…”
This opening line, on the phone or in office, strikes apprehension in your medical experts—or any expert, for that matter. Involving your experts as early as possible can quickly identify non-meritorious cases, save time, streamline case issues, improve case outcomes and the attorneys’ bottom line.
I recall a medical malpractice case several years ago involving a malfunctioning piece of life support equipment and multiple medical and nursing professionals, as well as falsified medical documentation. By the time the attorney contacted me late in the process as a Nurse Expert, the medical equipment company had been excluded from the case, and it was too late to include several of the medical and nursing professionals responsible for significant breaches in the standard of care.
Physicians and Nurse Experts/Legal Nurse Consultants work closely with legal teams within the medical or nurse expert’s area(s) of knowledge and expertise. We are your medical insiders, your ace in the hole, so to speak, familiar with the inner workings of the healthcare system and adept and interpreting medical documentation, terminology, and context; identifying the applicable standards of care, significant case issues and the medical professionals involved.
The good news—you have experienced, knowledgeable and clinically excellent physician and nurse experts and consultants available to assist with all medical aspects of your cases. Involve your experts as early in the case development process as possible for your best medical case outcomes and your own peace of mind.
Medical consultants and experts perform multiple independent and collaborative case support functions, including but not limited to:
- Case Screening Opinion for Merit
- Organize, analyze, summarize and interpret relevant medical records.
- Identify and request additional case relevant discovery.
- Identify and recommend additional potential defendants and witnesses.
- Research medical literature.
- Develop comprehensive case evaluations and reports for the attorney’s study and case development. Medical record information and testimony analysis in the format(s) of the attorney’s choosing–case summaries, timelines, and chronologies for use as study tools by the attorney and legal team.
- Assess alleged damages and injuries; identify causative or contributing factors.
- Identify additional Experts needed.
- Locate, screen, interview and investigate the credentials of potential expert witnesses. Present the attorney with multiple pre-screened potential expert witness candidates.Review and analyze Expert Witness reports and testimony. Cross-check with previous testimony and publications, if applicable.
- Consult with healthcare providers, serve as a liaison
- Attend depositions, trials, and mediation hearings.
- Review, analyze and summarize testimony, including past testimony.
- Prepare Interrogatories, healthcare issues.
- Assist with demonstrative evidence preparation.
