Has your firm been mulling over the idea of hiring a legal nurse consultant to provide a much-needed insight into the medical industry? If you work on a lot of malpractice suits or personal injury lawsuits, then you probably spend the bulk of your time researching medical specifics of these cases. Wouldn't it be nice to not only have a better focus and more quality research done in these medical issues, but to free up yourself and your paralegals to work on other matters? This is what a legal nursing consultant can do for you. There are many reasons you should hire a legal nursing consultant through a quality medical consulting firm, and the following list outlines a few of the signs that may point to an immediate need to the medical expertise and the specialized services offered by a legal nursing consultant.

Signs You Need a Legal Nurse Consultant

Think you may need a legal nursing consultant but are hesitant to hire one immediately? You probably have a lot of questions and concerns, ranging from the cost-effectiveness of a legal nursing consultant, to the quality of their work and the amount of expertise a nursing consultant brings to the job. Here are a few signs you may find the services of a legal nursing consultant well worth the price paid:

• You and your staff are spending a significant amount of time researching illnesses and the health care system: If your firm handles a lot of malpractice suits or personal injury cases, then you probably spend a significant amount of time researching these issues. Carefully researching and then building legal strategy and defense around that research is sound practice for any lawyer, and so it is important to do this research. However, a legal nursing consultant provides a knowledge and a familiarity with the health-care system that you and your staff are lacking. Every legal nursing consultant is a Registered Nurse (RN) and should have around 5 years or more of clinical experience in a private practice or hospital. That expertise is used in your favor and provides an intimate knowledge of the industry that will provide your firm with an edge over the opposition.
• You find yourself in frequent need of an expert witness: An expert witness bolsters your case by providing invaluable experience in the pertinent field. A legal nursing consultant can be the expert witness you need for your case, or he or she can appoint an expert witness for you.
• You need an expert in the medical industry to break down the difficult details of a medical case: A legal nursing consultant has an intimate knowledge of the health-care industry and can research and then explain any medical aspect of the case for you and your staff. A legal nursing consultant can review medical charts, evaluate any medical information, and help to demonstrate evidence for the case. A legal nursing consultant can be a valuable member of your staff if and when you need them.
• You need to find a way to effectively screen potential cases for merit: It can be difficult and time-consuming to sort through all of the potential malpractice and personal injury lawsuits that your firm receives. If you find yourself beginning to be bogged down by all of these potential cases and are looking for an effective way to screen these cases for merit, consider hiring a legal nurse consultant to conduct interviews and screen potential cases for merit. In this way, a legal nursing consultant can save you money by allowing you to focus your resources and time on cases that are most likely to result in a positive outcome.