Expertise
Nursing Expert Witness – Arrogance
Have you encountered an arrogant nursing expert witness? I did. You need a highly credentialed expert witness for a case. You supply experts. You form impressions about experts when you talk with them. Don’t refer experts who don’t get past your screening. One recent phone call left an impression on me. Our client asked us…
Read MoreAir Embolism – Deadly Result of Patient Abandonment
This is a case of an air embolism. Twenty-three year old Natalie B. was born physically and mentally handicapped. One afternoon, an employee of defendant MedLink of Ohio, a home healthcare company, took Natalie to the defendant Uni¬versity Hospitals of Cleveland for dialysis treatment. The employee then left while Natalie had the treatment. During the…
Read MoreExpert Witness Discredited
An expert witness’ secret had a devastating effect on a case; the result – a discredited expert witness. Sally Signal was a retired head nurse of an operating room. She was used to being in charge and had a headstrong personality. She went into the hospital for signs of a possible stroke. She had a…
Read MoreEmergency Medical Services: Was There a Duty to a Person Not a Patient?
An attorney client asked me about the emergency medical services’ liability. The mobile intensive care unit staffed by an EMT and nurse was called to the home of Loretta and her daughter, Erin. The daughter had a seizure at home. The ambulance driver encouraged Loretta to come along in the ambulance to the hospital. Loretta…
Read MoreElder Abuse Cases: How the Legal Nurse Consultant Can Help
Attorneys involved in litigating elder abuse cases may benefit from the help of a legal nurse consultant. Your ability to interpret medical records helps your clients investigate these types of elder abuse cases. Here is handy guide to elder abuse cases terms. Neglect as the foundation of elder abuse cases: when an elder does not…
Read MoreMedication Errors and Interruptions
How do medication errors occur? Think about the typical healthcare scene: The phone is ringing at the nurse’s station. The patients are putting on their lights asking for help. The IV pump is alarming. In the midst of this, the nurse is trying to give medications. A study showed that interrupting a nurse just once…
Read MoreElectronic Health Records Safety Part 2
Legal nurse consultants see errors that occur during a patient’s care. What are the sources of errors caused by electronic health care records safety as opposed to a healthcare provider? How do errors occur with electronic health records? Consider the impact of people, processes, technology and environment. People issues affect electronic health records safety How…
Read MoreElectronic Health Records Safety part 1
Do you understand the issues around the implementation of an EHR within a healthcare organization or provider practice? They can profoundly affect patient safety through electronic health records safety. Informatics knowledge will position you for a greater understanding of the scope and breadth of potential electronic health records safety errors and risks associated with an…
Read MoreAnalysis of Long Term Care Falls
My preparation for being a long term care expert witness When I first became interested in becoming a long term care expert witness, I knew that I had to have ample education, and that being able to prevent long term care falls was important. I already had lots of letters after my name. I had…
Read MoreCauses of Falls
Falls are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injures in people 65-years-old and older in the United States. They can play a catastrophic role in this population. A few ounces of prevention can go a long way in the causes of falls. Effective communication among the healthcare team, patients and their families impacts patient…
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