What are the benefits to an attorney in working with an LNC? How do you make yourself invaluable to an attorney handling cases with medical issues?
Here are 3 benefits you can discuss with potential clients.
Make yourself invaluable by teaching
Although attorneys who have a lot of experience handling certain types of cases become good at the medical language, there are many areas they do not understand. One of my plaintiff attorney clients specialized in birth injury cases related to failure to diagnose the appropriate prenatal medical testing. I told him, “If I were in childbearing years, I’d want you to order the right tests for me.” He replied, “I could order the tests, but the part about examining women – I would not want to do that!”
Explain to your clients how you can educate attorneys about medical records and issues, and explain why they are important. A good legal nurse consultant is a patient, good teacher. Just knowing all of that information doesn’t do the lawyer any good unless you can teach the lawyer how to use that. Make yourself invaluable to attorneys by showing how the medical information can be used to their benefit, rather than just saying “This mark here means the following. . .
- What’s important?”
- Why is it important that mark is there at that time?”
Help the attorney avoid making a mistake
Make sure he or she understands the medical issues and how they impact the case. Attorneys are terribly afraid before they get ready to try a case. They are afraid they will make a mistake and that’s where you’re going to help them in these medical issues. That will be one less thing for them to worry about.
Make yourself invaluable by preventing the attorney from being surprised
Attorneys are always afraid of that terrible surprise that they have not prepared for. They fear having their adversary surprise them with a medical fact. Your detailed review of the medical record enables you to prep the attorney so the good and bad aspects of the case are revealed. Your review of the records in a personal injury case may reveal references to noncompliance, substance abuse or prior injuries. Sometimes plaintiffs don’t tell their attorneys about these details.
Take that away that fear about the medical aspects of the lawsuit. If you can take that one worry away from the client, he or she will know how to address the medical issues and can answer all of the questions.
Be a skilled educator and give information to the attorney that will prevent mistakes and surprises. These benefits are important to attorneys and help them see your value.
Understand the frame of reference of an experienced trial attorney by listening to Wayne Schoeneberg speak about his view of legal nurse consultants. Check out his podcast How to Get More Clients: Advice from an Attorney at this link.