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A scary case where poor delivery of a child led to the permanent damage for life. These cases are so sad because we trust that doctors will make the right choice based on the evidence given to them. Certified Legal nurse consultants can help victims in these cases.
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The article, “The Most Stupid Five Medical Mistakes”, source; Faculty of Medicine
“1- Joan Morris (a pseudonym) is a 67-year-old woman admitted to a teaching hospital for cerebral angiography.”
Here are some scary cases of malpractice at a very high level of incompetence. Legal nurse consultants may very well find themselves in these ty pes of cases. Legal nurses can give critical insight into cases involving healthcare and medical procedure for attorneys.
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See on forum.facmedicine.com
The article, “Technology Problems Behind 1 In 4 Surgery Errors, Study Finds”, by Bahar Gholipour
“Technology or equipment issues cause one in four operating room errors, and device checks before surgery could prevent some of them, a new study finds.”
See on www.huffingtonpost.com
Legal issues in nursing are nearly always related to potential harm to the patient. The most egregious example of harm, active euthanasia, is illegal in every state – even Oregon’s euthanasia statute is under legal review – and a nurse who commits such acts can be charged with murder. But other seemingly minor problems may also have legal consequences. A medication error, failure to document, failure to report changes in the patient’s condition or acting outside of the scope of practice can land a nurse in court.
Standards of nursing care begin with the nursing code of ethics. This document, formulated by the American Nurses Association, discusses such as issues as putting the patient first, maintaining confidentiality, dealing with impaired nurses and other potential ethical issues. Many of the topics in the code of ethics carry over into nursing practice acts that provide specific direction about what constitutes legal practice. Although there are similarities in nursing practice acts, each state has its own act, and the nurse should be familiar with all aspects of the nursing practice act in her state.
Nurses are legally mandated reporters for child abuse and elder abuse in most states. They may also be mandated reporters for domestic violence. In California, domestic violence is considered a form of assault and the nurse is mandated to report under the same considerations that would apply if the patient had a gunshot or knife wound. Failure to report can lead to legal penalties such as fines or disciplinary actions against the nurse’s license.
Confidentiality is a very important issue in nursing. Breaking confidentiality is both an ethical and legal issue. Under the requirements of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, the nurse cannot share identifying information about a patient except to someone else who has a right to that information. A nurse who breaks confidentiality may face both legal and professional sanctions. Even an unintentional error can be devastating for the nurse concerned, as evidenced by the suicide of the British nurse who inadvertently connected radio talk show hosts to the Duchess of Cambridge during her admission for severe morning sickness.
Doing something outside of the nursing scope of practice is another serious legal issue. Nurses cannot practice medicine and a nurse who performs a procedure that only physicians are licensed to perform can be sued as well as lose her nursing license. There are gradations of scope within nursing as well. Both registered nurses and certified registered nurse anesthetists can inject a local anesthetic in most states, but only a CRNA can administer general anesthesia. An RN who gives a general anesthetic is acting illegally.
Most states require that nurses be competent. A nurse who performs a task for which she is not qualified can be sued, and nurses are expected to refuse an assignment for which they are not qualified. Unfortunately, the demands of patient care may put the nurse in a situation where she feels unqualified, such as floating to another unit. In that situation, the nurse should communicate with the nursing supervisor and comment her concerns, then provide only that care in which she is competent. To do otherwise puts the nurse at risk of legal liability and professional disciplinary action.
If you have an interest in advancing your legal nurse education, then please review our site.
A good story of a nurse who entered the legal nurse profession and her story about her climb. The role of a legal nurse consultant is an interesting one. You begin as a nurse and then advance toward your educational goal as a legal nursing professional. If you are interested in learning more, please review our program.
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See on www.workingnurse.com
So many times, people are injured due to malpractice and they do not act in time. The reality is, many doctors need to be brought to justice for poor care. Legal nurse consultants can help attorneys prepare your case.
Below are some things to remember for any type of injuries, from accidents to malpractice.
Legal action could be something to think about if you were harmed by another person’s actions. This type of lawsuit happens daily.
Be honest and let your lawyer about any previous injuries you may have had before the accident. You do not want them to get sandbagged with it once the trial starts.
Look into how big the firm’s size prior to deciding on your lawyer. If you have a big lawsuit, then your representing firm needs to be large as well. If you only have a small case, this kind of exorbitant expense is not necessary.
Talk to an injury attorney about how you can or should settle your matter in advance of court. This can save you much stress and additional court costs.
If you aren’t getting the things you need, it may be time to find a new lawyer. Also, if you weren’t able to reach your lawyer, you might need to get yourself a substitute.
You should avoid moving your vehicle after an accident unless the police tell you it is ok to do so. The only time this does not apply is if the accident takes place where there is a busy street or highway.
Gather the contact information for any witnesses right after an accident. The court case may take quite a while and the lawyer needs accurate statements as soon as they begin to prepare for it. People forget details or move, so getting information quickly will help you with your case.
Keep records about expenses that occur due to your personal injury. This sort of list will include the time and expense of doctor appointments, damages to personal property, how much time you’ve stayed away from work and any other things that have cost you. If your case goes to trial, it won’t be used to determine your judgement.
Shopping for an attorney to help with a personal injury lawyer is much like shopping for a new car. New services are available all of the time, and the ones that used to be good may not be on the radar now.
After you’ve become injured, it is in your best interest to zip your lips.Answer their questions about your medical history too. If you don’t say much, the other side can’t use it against you.
Ask your lawyer to tell you about his past history.
Talk to various lawyers before making your decision.You need to be sure you work together well with your attorney. You also need to find a lawyer that the attorney has confidence in your case and can provide reasons why he feels this way.
You should know all about the personal injury legal process. Your lawyer can help you in on the details. This may involve paperwork, as well as meetings with an insurance adjuster to discuss claims.
Be honest with your doctor about your injuries and the impact they have on your daily life. Exaggerating your injuries could lead to unnecessary treatments or therapy and treatment can be harmful. You should be honest and assess the impact of your case.
If you must appeal the judgement in your personal injury lawsuit, realize that you can select a different lawyer for the appeal if you wish. A new attorney may be able to look at your case differently and help you need to get a different verdict.
Be deliberate and take time when finding a lawyer.You might get upset and have the urge to get the first attorney you run into, but it pays to do your research.
Establish communication when first meeting with your attorney. Your case can easily get buried under the many cases the lawyer is working on.This can especially happen if communication when the beginning. Get your expectation in writing too.
Let your doctor know that you have a lawsuit. Your doctor will know better what you with detailed reports on your injuries and help you assess how your personal injuries have impacted different aspects of your life.
You should be able to get a settlement for your personal injury case. However, this category is hard to determine, so it is important to take pictures of your injuries and to write down a personal account of what you went through after the accident. Give it to your attorney all such documentation so that they can present a good case.
Many different types of incidents are included in personal injury claim.Anything that causes bodily harm for any reason falls into this type of law.
Write down challenges or frustrations you have experienced.You can review this in court if it is necessary to jog your memory.
Taking legal action to receive a settlement is a good way to cover the medical expenses linked to your personal injuries. You are owed this money if you have been injured by someone else. Use what you’ve just learned to get the relief you have coming to you.
If you are interested in legal nurse consulting, then click here
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The article, “Altered Medical Records, Lose the Case: Part I”, by David Mittleman
“Altering medical records is no laughing matter and for doctors involved in medical malpractice suits it could mean the kiss of death Take for example a New York jury who recently awarded”
A good review of committing fraud by altering medical records. Altered medical records can lead to law suits and more importantly personal injury. Any legal nurse consultant should read this and know what to look for and how to prevent records from being altered. If you feel you need more information you should study up by taking legal nursing courses. Again this article is Highly recommended!
See on lansing.legalexaminer.com
What is the role of the legal nurse consultant? A legal nurse consultant (or simply an LCN) is a certified registered nurse who makes use of his or her background experience as a health care provider in order to offer advice to legal experts and attorneys, about various issues of the law that involve the medical field. The legal nurse uses his or her expertise to review medical records, analyze medical information and then offer her informed opinion to attorneys. Despite the fact that the job of legal nurse consultant has been around for roughly three decades, it has already become one of the most sought-after jobs in the medical field.
A legal nurse consultant can offer advice in a wide range of fields, from wrongful death and personal injury to products liability, sexual assault and even criminal defense cases. Due to the fact that they are familiar with medical terminology and code of conduct, legal nurses often assist lawyers in reading the medical records, for a better understanding of the case. Nonetheless, in order to offer professional advice in legal matters that involve the medical field a nurse must have specialized law training prior to that.
The legal nurse has a wealth of duties and responsibilities: the nurse has to interview medical experts and must act as an intermediary between medical experts and the law firms that deal with a medical trial – in some cases, the nurse even has to talk to the family of the victim and explain them the situation. Based on her expertise and specialized training, the nurse should also research the medical literature and even come up with case theories that will help lawyers solve the case quickly and without the hassles.
As a health care working professional with solid experience in the field, the nurse should also identify any deviations from the medical standards of care and determine whether they played any role in the case. Analyzing the medical records of the victim and discussing with various other medical professionals are also part of the duties of a legal nurse consultant.
In some cases, the legal nurses might even be asked to testify at trials as expert witnesses and to create extended and detailed medical reports that will be presented in court – the purpose of these reports is to outline the medical implications that lead to the accusation of personal injury, products liability and such.
Last, but not least, the legal nurse not only uses the existing expertise to analyze a case and decide whether it was the plaintiff’s or the defendant fault in a case, but also to consult and educate the clients on certain medical and nursing matters of utmost importance.
Legal nurse consulting is a respected nursing specialty, and in order to be able to practice her job, a legal nurse consultant should enroll in various training courses and certification programs such as the program offered by the American College of Legal Nurse Consulting. Moreover, Legal nurses can work in a wide range of settings, varying from insurance companies and government agencies to hospitals – in some cases; they might even choose to work in an independent practice office.
As mentioned above, the role of the Legal nurse is also to be an expert witness, to assist the plaintiff by reviewing the case and offering pertinent information from sophisticated medical records. This is often required in cases of personal injury or medical malpractice, and the nurse also has to create a chronological summary of the facts, for a batter understanding. In other words, the nurse will provide expert opinion and will testify in court.
Legal nurses are frequently called upon to provide an entire case review and analysis on cases of alleged negligence in nursing practice. In this capacity the legal nurse consultant reviews all applicable standards of nursing care related to a case and identifies deviations from these established standards of nursing care. This allows the legal nurse and the legal team to identify deviations and potential issues of negligence in practice.
A key here is also establishing damages sustained by the client. As you can see, the role of the legal nurse is critical to trying and also defending nursing malpractice cases. The legal nurse may act as a consultant for the case or as the expert providing testimony on the cases as related to standards of nursing care.
In case of medical malpractice, legal nurse consultants will use their extensive clinical experience to determine whether defective medical devices or medical products are to blame in a particular case. This involves the intake of client information and the thorough analysis of medical records to determine product liability, if case. If the plaintiff suffered an injury caused by a dangerous defective product, it is the duty of the nurse to point that out in court.
To sum it up, all the duties and responsibilities mentioned above make the legal nurse consultant a specialized and important member of the litigation team, and his or her work is vital for achieving a just outcome both for the plaintiff and the defendant.
Are you interested in becoming a Legal Nurse Consultant? If so, you must first be a Registered Nurse and have clinical practice experience in nursing. You will then want to complete a comprehensive program designed to educate and train legal nurses to go into practice. One such program is offered by the American College of Legal Nurse Consulting. This program is very comprehensive and consists of four core modules of training. Each module requires testing and successful score attainment to move on to the next module. When all four of the learning modules and courses have been completed, the Registered Nurse receives national certification as a Certified Specialist in Legal Nurse Consulting. You may preview full information on the program by visiting the website: Legal Nurse Consulting Certification
If you are in the middle of a personal injury lawsuit, you may feel a bit overwhelmed and hopeless. You must be sure that you learn all you can about this situation, and that’s what this article aims to assist you with. Continue reading for more tips on preparing a winning case.
Choose a lawyer you like. You don’t need to stay with one that you don’t get along with just because that person knows what they’re doing. If you don’t get along with them, you won’t win your case. Legal nurse consulting can help you understand the medical terms so you can make your choice correctly.
You should not move your vehicle after an accident unless a law enforcement officer tells you to. Moving the car can lead to more damage, leaving you at least partially liable. When it’s in a busy street’s intersection, that’s the only exception.
If you receive injuries in a car crash or while at work, get yourself a lawyer right away. Time is important with this kind of suit. When you hire a lawyer quickly, he will be able to help you gather photographic evidence, take witness statements, and interview parties involved.
Prepare yourself before meeting with your lawyer. When they work on contingency, this is even more important. Your lawyer will only get money if you get a favorable ruling, so it is possible they may turn your case away if you don’t have adequate information. Bring everything needed with you. Also talk to a legal nurse as well to get a medical point of view.
Save all receipts related to your personal injury expenses. You can use these items to show how much money you had to pay as a result of your injury. If you don’t keep these, the court may not reimburse this money.
Take your time choosing your personal injury lawyer. Often people will rush to choose a lawyer to represent them. This is almost always a mistake. There could be a superior lawyer that may be better for you. Do some research and interview a good selection of lawyers before you choose one to represent you.
If you’re handling your case yourself, you must locate every policy that the at fault party owns. Perhaps you can make multiple claims. If the at-fault party will not willingly give you the information, you can compel the court to order them to do so. Lastly make sure you get advice from a legal nurse consultant.
Never hire a lawyer off the TV. This is not a good way to judge if a lawyer is competent. If you want to consider such a lawyer, be sure you research them thoroughly before making an appointment. Failing to do this may sabotage your case, costing you even more money and making it impossible to hire a talented lawyer.
When you’re thinking of getting a personal injury lawyer, pick out one that is close by. This person and you will be spending lots of time together, therefore, the more convenient his office location is, the better it will be for you. Email and phone calls just won’t cut it for some types of needed conversation.
Before choosing a lawyer, do your research about them. Various firms and lawyers deal with certain cases, and you also need to look at their history. Hire someone that is familiar with cases like yours.
Assist your lawyer in finding holes in the other party’s story when dealing with a court case. If you can prove the other side is lying your case becomes very easy to win. These lies will make the judge or jury doubtful of their entire case, and cause your side to be much more believable.
Hopefully you now have a much better understanding of what can be done to help you build your personal injury case. You have to get started on hiring a lawyer, so use the tips that you have learned to help you do that. It’s time to get going now, so get to work!
If you are interested in online continuing health care education, you should take a look at our website.
The chance of a health care provider being sued is always high and realistic. Legal nurse consultants can help in cases where there is legitimate case or even defend the health care provider if they feel the patient is in the wrong. One such area is radiology. Below is research on malpractice within radiology.
The article, “The demography of medical malpractice suits against radiologists.”, by Department of Radiology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School states
“PURPOSE: To delimit demographic characteristics of malpractice claims against radiologists in the United States by sex and location and to note the varying percentages of favorable outcomes and award amounts to plaintiffs by state.”
To read the article click here
If you are interested in taking Legal Nurse Consulting Courses, please click here
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