Guiding you through the complexity of medical records utilizing decades of experience

The legal world and the medical world often overlap, such as in medical malpractice cases. However, since many lawyers, prosecutors, judges, and jury members aren’t always familiar with the world of medicine, they will often need help from an expert in that area. This is where legal nurse consultants come into play.

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What is a Legal Nurse Consultant?
A legal nurse consultant is an experienced professional in the nursing industry that is qualified to work as a legal consultant on medical cases
What Does a Legal Nurse Consultant Do?
Legal nurse consultants work with law professionals and perform a variety of different services. They will often assist in medical malpractice cases, toxic torts, insurance fraud cases, personal injury cases, worker’s compensation cases, and criminal cases, among others.
Where Do Legal Nurse Consultants Work?
Legal Nurse Consultants can often find employment in a number of healthcare settings. This includes hospitals, clinics, and long-term patient care centers.
Who Hires a Legal Nurse Consultant?
Health insurance companies and HMOs will also often hire legal nurse consultants, as will attorney firms, prosecution offices, and forensic departments.
Why Hire Mercury Rising LNC?
After gaining decades of experience in the nursing field, Kathleen went back to college to gain even more experience. This combines the two worlds in the most professional manner.
Need to know more?
We are willing to come to your place of work, Local BAR Association meetings, and even conduct video conferencing presentations to help you understand how we can work for you.

Why should you hire a legal nurse consultant?

The legal nurse consultant has a thorough understanding of medical issues and trends related to the total litigation process. The legal nurse consultant is able to customize the case for the attorney, the client, and jury.

Experience

The legal nurse consultant has an extensive background of clinical experience, which includes interpretation of medical records, documents, and medical-legal issues.

Cost-effectiveness

The legal nurse consultant utilizes their nursing background and knowledge of healthcare standards to identify strengths and weaknesses of a case.

Resourcefulness

The legal nurse consultant possesses a network of medical and professional resources and contacts.

What should you look for when hiring a legal nurse consultant?

The main purpose of legal nurse consultants is to help law professionals understand and process legal information. They work to help bridge the gap between the fields of medicine and law. Not only are they experts in practical medicine, but they also usually have a firm grasp on the legal aspects of medicine and the healthcare industry.

Experience, including solid clinical experience and a strong background in legal nurse consulting.
Education, including nursing education, and other medical-legal-related educational programs.
Professionalism, including strong oral and written communication skills.
Involvement, including a demonstrated commitment to the field through involvement in national and local professional organizations.

Learn Why You Need to Hire Mercury Rising LNC

What is the Role of the Legal Nurse Consultant?

Since the early 80s, legal nurse consultants have
acted as collaborators and strategists, offering
support for medically-related litigation and other
medicolegal matters in a variety of practice areas
including the following:

Preparing for Trials

For cases that go to trial, LNCs may prepare medical fact reports and summaries, chronologies of medical events, graphic exhibits and other evidence. They may also draft questions for attorneys to use during medical depositions, interview parties involved in a case and prepare witnesses for testifying at trial.

Reviewing Medical Records

Searching for the medical and nursing issues relevant to a case, LNCs review medical records to help determine whether professional negligence occurred, to summarize injuries and treatment and to identify any missing or tampered records. Medical records also offer an LNC insight into the standard of healthcare provided to a client.

Testifying as an Expert Witness

Attorneys may call LNC experts as witnesses at trial to provide facts, data, and opinions based on case evidence. Along with offering testimony, an LNC’s job may involve locating and retaining expert witnesses who can offer specialized insight and knowledge relevant to the circumstances of a case.

Educating Colleagues

In the process of deciphering a case, LNCs educate attorneys regarding medical facts, timelines, treatments, nursing terminology and other relevant healthcare information. Furthermore, their LNC degree and experience gives them the background to serve as liaisons between the attorneys, physicians, juries, and clients involved in a particular case.

"Kathleen was an invaluable asset to my client, to me, and my case. She helped me navigate medical records with ease. Kathleen had a keen eye for what was missing in my opponent's records which helped in discovery as well as the case theory. Kathleen testified against two doctors in my case. her medical knowledge was sharp and coupled with her courtroom demeanor; easily digested by the jurors. The jurors preferred her mild tone and artful description of complex medical supposition and my client prevailed.

Attorney Timothy A. Shyne

Law Office Of Timothy Shyne

"I have had the pleasure of working with Kathy Mercurio on a criminal case. Kathy is self-assured, experienced and calmly handles the stress that may be associated with testifying on cases with a skillful manner. Kathy is extremely bright and nothing seems too challenging for her. She has lots of confidence in everything that she does, from deciphering medical records to testifying in such a way as to capture a jury. Kathy was, in fact, a prominent reason for my client's successful verdict. It is without hesitation that I highly recommend Kathy Mercurio for any case that may require medical knowledge or testimony."

Attorney Georgia Petropoulos

Petropoulos, Murray & Green, P.A.

"I am so excited to work with and help others"

Kathleen

Mercury Rising LNC

Frequently Asked Questions

Got questions? We have got the best answers for you.

What can a Legal Nurse Consultant (LNC) provide for services?

Document review, medical knowledge, expertise in various areas of healthcare, Observe IME (Independent Medical Exams), an expert witness for defense as well as prosecution, assist with client preparation pre-trial, provide information pertinent to the case pertaining to standards of care and research-based evidence. I often say I “untangle” the web of alphabet soup that is the medical record.

What do you charge?

LNC’s each set their own fee schedule. I provide any potential client my fee schedule and retainer information at our first visit, whether on the phone or in person.

What is your background?

I’m a Registered Nurse (RN) with advanced education in the areas of Critical Care, Emergency Department, Trauma and Infection Prevention. I am Nationally Board Certified in Infection Prevention and also Qualified as an Expert Witness/ LNC in multiple court systems in Massachusetts. My nursing career spans four decades.

Can you work as an LNC in any state?

Yes. I have assisted law firms on cases in Ohio, NJ, RI and West Virginia as well as in my home state of Massachusetts

What is the average time needed for an LNC to review medical records and report back to the attorney?

It depends on the case. I have completed a report after only 8 hours total, and have also worked on cases that took 30-60 hours of time. During the discussion of my fee schedule, I try to give a conservative estimate for my hours expected to work on the case. I am always fair and do my best to finish the case review and reporting as efficiently and quickly as possible, all the while maintaining the highest levels of professionalism and attention to the tiniest details.

What else don't I know about LNC's?

Just like any profession, not all LNC’s will fit your needs. Take the time to talk with the LNC, understand his/her priorities, experience and fee schedule. Ask the tough questions and get to know which LNC service fits your needs.