Nurse Consultant Services

A life care plan is a consistent process for analyzing the future needs of individuals affected by a catastrophic injury or chronic illness. It provides an estimate of costs associated with that individual's resultant life-long disability. It is often entails a large degree of economic damages in personal injury cases. 

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Our life care planners strictly follow the standardized methodology associated with this profession which includes a complete review and summarization of the medical records, interviewing the client and family, conducting a home safety assessment, recording a day in the life video if requested, consulting with treatment providers and/or experts involved in the case, and researching and sources of treatment recommendations included in the final report. This valuable service assists in quantifying damages for demands and settlement. 

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We've authored life care plans in many areas including:

• Spinal cord injuries

• Traumatic brain injuries

• Birth injuries

• Organ transplants

• Amputations

• End Stage Renal Failure

• Other chronic illnesses

• Developmental or psychiatric disabilities

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Our experienced life care planners have testified on both the plaintiff and defense sides.

An Independent Medical Exam, IME, can sometimes be referred to as a DME. This physician examination can have a significant impact on your client's case.

 

To ensure an unbiased, honest exam, it is important to have your client represented at the exam. One of our experienced nurses will attend the independent medical exam on behalf of the attorney and his/her client.

 

Many clients have told us that they were so grateful for our presence, to provide advocacy and support, and to make the whole experience a little less unsettling.

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The attending nurse will author a detailed observation report, which allows the attorney to identify discrepancies between the actual exam and what transpired in the examination room versus what the physician documented in his/her report as occurring. This includes specific symptoms and complaints offered by the client.

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E.L.K does not have a mileage cap for IME exam attendance. Our registered nurses that attend exams and prepare observation reports are capable of testifying to such in deposition or trial.

A legal nurse consultant can bring their expertise to the table in assisting attorneys during the entire litigation process.

 

We can organize what can often be thousands of pages of medical records associated with a case and summarize them in a detailed chronological report, outlining the relevant medical events involved in a case in a clear and concise format.

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In today's healthcare setting, medical records are all found in an electronic format, often making it difficult to navigate through pages of records and other documents.

 

Our experienced staff has the ability to easily identify medical records within an electronic format. We will review relevant records, hospital policies and procedures, and other essential documents and tangible items as well as identify missing records. 

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We can conduct research regarding toxic or harmful substance and plaintiff's exposure. We are experienced in drafting detailed medical chronologies for mass tort and toxic tort cases. 

These reports are often considered "mini" life care plans, because unlike a life care plan, a medical cost projection is more suited for non-catastrophic or "self-limiting" types of injuries. 

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They determine the future cost of care for those who have suffered injuries or illnesses that may not result in life-long disability.

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These reports are prepared for less complex cases where the medical care is more straightforward and there are no extensive, life-long rehabilitative needs.

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This type of report is ideal for when your firm is preparing for mediation, negotiating during settlement, when you have strict deadlines or timelines, or is you have a smaller case budget or limited insurance policies. 

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Our experienced staff have prepared a number of medical cost projections for common orthopedic injuries and work injuries. 

This very important aspect of legal nurse consulting deserves to sit alone! There are 20,000 malpractice lawsuits filed every year in the United States.

 

Attorneys handle malpractice cases that often arise out of:

• medication errors

• delayed diagnoses

• surgical mistakes 

• wrongful death

• birth trauma

• and more  

 

We can define applicable standards of care and whether or not those standards were adhered to. 

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We will identify factors that caused or contributed to the alleged damages and/or injuries

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This is especially important in screening potential  medical malpractice cases to determine merit before accepting a case.

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Our experienced staff can prepare all of the information associated with a med-mal review in your preferred format; narrative, bullet points, and detailed chronologies or timelines to name a few!

A concentrated cost estimate is a report which provides a concise estimate of future medical costs for non-catastrophic cases, such as identifying costs associated with a specific surgery and immediate rehabilitative needs following the procedure.

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These reports can include costs related to physician visits, diagnostics, durable medical equipment and more.

 

A typical case that we would do a concentrated cost estimate on would be a client who had a shoulder injury and needs a rotator cuff repair. We can narrow down the costs to this particular procedure and typical post-operative protocols. 

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These brief reports can be utilized for mediations and demand packages.

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A concentrated cost estimate is a consulting report only. It is not suited for deposition or trial testimony.