Attorneys often work with complex medical information that can significantly affect the outcome of a case. Medical records, diagnoses, treatment decisions, causation, future care needs, and clinical standards can all require specialized knowledge that goes beyond the legal team’s expertise.
Two types of professionals who can help attorneys navigate these issues are medical legal experts and legal nurse consultants.
While their roles can overlap, they are not necessarily interchangeable. Understanding the difference can help attorneys determine what type of clinical support their case requires and when bringing in additional medical expertise may be appropriate.
What Is a Medical Legal Expert?
A medical legal expert is a qualified healthcare professional who applies clinical knowledge and experience to questions that arise in legal cases.
Depending on the needs of the case, a medical legal expert may be a physician, nurse, life care planner, rehabilitation professional, or another qualified clinical professional with relevant expertise.
Medical legal experts may help attorneys:
- Understand complex medical conditions and treatment
- Review and interpret medical records
- Evaluate medical causation
- Analyze treatment and clinical decision-making
- Identify potential gaps or inconsistencies in medical records
- Evaluate future medical and healthcare needs
- Provide clinical opinions within their area of expertise
- Assist with case strategy and preparation
- Support deposition and trial preparation
- Serve as an expert witness when appropriately qualified and retained for that purpose
The specific role of a medical legal expert depends on the individual’s credentials, clinical background, litigation experience, and the questions that need to be addressed in the case.
What Is a Legal Nurse Consultant?
A legal nurse consultant, or LNC, is a registered nurse who uses nursing and healthcare knowledge to assist attorneys and legal professionals with medically related aspects of a case.
Legal nurse consultants can help bridge the gap between medicine and the law by helping attorneys understand medical terminology, records, treatment, and clinical issues.
Depending on their experience and the needs of the case, legal nurse consultants may assist with:
- Reviewing medical records
- Organizing and summarizing medical information
- Creating medical timelines and chronologies
- Identifying relevant medical issues
- Researching medical standards and literature
- Identifying potential medical experts
- Preparing questions for depositions
- Assisting with case organization and preparation
- Identifying missing or potentially relevant medical records
- Communicating clinical information to the legal team
An LNC can be a valuable resource when an attorney needs help understanding and organizing the medical aspects of a case.
Medical Legal Expert vs. Legal Nurse Consultant
The biggest distinction is that legal nurse consulting describes a specific professional role performed by a registered nurse, while medical legal expert is a broader term that can encompass different types of qualified healthcare professionals providing clinical expertise for legal matters.
There can be significant overlap between the services they provide.
For example, both may review medical records, help attorneys understand clinical information, conduct medical research, or assist with identifying medical issues relevant to a case.
However, the appropriate professional depends on the questions the attorney needs answered.
| Medical Legal Expert | Legal Nurse Consultant |
|---|---|
|
|
These roles are not necessarily competing alternatives. In many cases, an attorney may benefit from both.
When Should an Attorney Work With a Legal Nurse Consultant?
A legal nurse consultant can be particularly valuable during the early stages of case evaluation and medical record review.
For example, an attorney may have hundreds or thousands of pages of medical records but need help determining what information is relevant to the legal issues.
An LNC may help the legal team:
- Organize extensive medical records.
- Develop a medical chronology.
- Identify significant diagnoses, procedures, and treatment.
- Flag inconsistencies or gaps for further investigation.
- Translate medical terminology into information the legal team can use.
- Identify questions that may require additional clinical expertise.
- Help determine what type of medical expert may be appropriate.
This can help attorneys spend less time trying to interpret medical information on their own and more time focusing on the legal strategy of the case.
When Should an Attorney Work With a Medical Legal Expert?
A medical legal expert may become particularly important when a case requires specialized clinical knowledge or an opinion regarding a specific medical issue.
For example, an attorney may need assistance with:
Medical causation
What caused an injury, illness, complication, or change in condition?
Standard of care
Did the treatment or clinical decision-making meet the applicable standard of care?
Future medical needs
What treatment, equipment, therapy, medications, or other services may be required in the future?
Catastrophic injuries
What are the long-term medical, rehabilitation, and functional implications of a catastrophic injury?
Complex medical conditions
What does the medical evidence actually show, and how does it relate to the legal questions in the case?
Expert testimony
Does the case require a qualified clinical professional who can provide an expert opinion and potentially testify?
The right professional depends on the specific clinical questions involved. A physician may be appropriate for one question, while a nurse, rehabilitation professional, life care planner, or another specialist may be better suited for another.
Do Attorneys Ever Need Both?
Yes.
A legal nurse consultant and a medical legal expert can serve complementary roles.
For example, an LNC might review a large collection of medical records, organize the relevant information, and help identify the key clinical questions.
The attorney could then work with an appropriately qualified medical expert to address a specialized issue such as causation, standard of care, prognosis, or future medical needs.
This approach can be particularly useful in complex litigation where medical evidence is extensive or multiple clinical specialties are involved.
The Importance of Matching the Right Clinical Expert to the Case
One of the most important considerations for attorneys is that finding a healthcare professional is not the same as finding the right healthcare professional for a particular case.
The relevant specialty is only one part of the equation.
An attorney may also need to consider:
- Clinical experience
- Specialty and subspecialty
- Experience with the specific condition or injury
- Professional credentials
- Relevant case experience
- Geographic considerations
- Litigation and testimony experience
- Availability
- Potential conflicts
- The specific questions the expert will need to address
For complex cases, identifying the right clinical expertise early can help the legal team better understand the medical issues and determine what additional support may be necessary.
How LegalMed180 Helps Attorneys Navigate Medical Expertise
LegalMed180 provides attorneys with access to a network of vetted clinical professionals and hands-on support for identifying the right expertise for a case.
Rather than simply providing an attorney with a list of healthcare professionals, LegalMed180’s concierge approach focuses on understanding the needs of the case and helping identify appropriate clinical expertise.
Depending on the needs of the case, support may include:
- Medical and scientific research
- Medical record review and summaries
- Medical chronologies
- Discovery and deposition summaries
- Expert identification and matching
- Case evaluation support
- Motion and legal writing support
- Trial preparation
- Finding appropriate treating professionals or experts
- Life care planning and future care analysis
For attorneys working on complex medical cases, the goal is not simply to find an expert. It is to help identify the right clinical expertise for the questions the case requires.
Medical Legal Expert or Legal Nurse Consultant: Which Do You Need?
The answer depends on the needs of your case.
A legal nurse consultant can be an excellent resource for helping attorneys understand, organize, and analyze medical information throughout the litigation process.
A medical legal expert may be appropriate when the case requires specialized clinical knowledge, an expert opinion, or testimony from a qualified healthcare professional.
In complex cases, attorneys may benefit from both.
The key is understanding the medical questions that need to be answered and identifying the appropriate clinical professional to address them.
Need Help Finding the Right Clinical Expertise?
Medical issues can become some of the most complex parts of a legal case. Having the right clinical support can help attorneys better understand the evidence, evaluate the issues, and prepare their cases.
LegalMed180 helps attorneys connect with vetted clinical professionals and provides hands-on support for complex medical-legal needs.
