THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LEGAL NURSE CONSULTANT AND EXPERT WITNESS
APRIL 18, 2022 | BY KATHLEEN MARTIN, RN, MSN, WCC
A legal nurse consultant (LNC), works with attorneys on medical cases to help review and summarize medical records, give an opinion on whether or not a case may have merit and are called upon to assist attorneys interpret medical terminology and medical record navigation. An attorney may look to seek the services of an LNC to help them understand the standards in a particular area of nursing care, assist in preparation for trial, deposition, and/or arbitration. An LNC is typically seen assisting with the “background” aspects of a legal medical case, is not required to testify, have recent clinical experience or maintain a license as a registered nurse. You do not need a “certification“ as an LNC.
An expert witness nurse, however, is a nurse with experience and/or working in a clinical nursing area that has knowledge and experience in the current standards of care. The expert nurse must have direct clinical experience in that field. It can be fairly recent and does not have to be current or immediate. A nurse’s role as an expert is to review medical records and give an opinion on whether or not the standard of care was followed. Typically, a written report will be provided to the attorney, which is submitted to the court. Sometimes, a certificate of merit is requested. In contrast to an LNC, experts may be required to testify at deposition or at trial. There is no special education required to act as an expert witness, however, an active unencumbered nursing license is needed along with keeping any certifications up to date that is listed on a cv.
To conclude, taking a course and becoming a legal nurse consultant may be advantageous when taking on work as an expert.
Both areas are quite interesting as you will receive cases from all over the us that are different and yet, sometimes similar. If you like puzzles or problem solving, then this work will definitely appeal to you.
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