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Legal nurse consultant are registered nurses who apply nursing expertise with specialized legal training to consult on medical related legal claims.

The consultants have clinical experience in an areas such as an emergency department, surgery, or another specialized area. An LNC completes a certificate program to gain sufficient legal knowledge necessary to become a legal nurse consultant.

LNCs offer advice to attorneys, paralegals and legal experts regarding medically related issues of the law.

A legal nurse consultant’s nursing education and clinical expertise uniquely qualifies the nurse to analyze complex medical information and render informed opinions to attorneys in medical legal matters.

Legal nurse consultants assist attorneys in a wide variety of matters including medical malpractice, products liability, worker’s compensation, nursing liability, personal injury, wrongful death, toxic tort, sexual assault, and criminal defense cases.

Costs

Per Minute versus Per Hour

The type of work and expected pay of a legal nurse consultant varies with the assignment and terms of employment.

Consultants are often paid by increments of the hour and typical rates run from about $1.00 per minute to $250 per hour depending on the duties performed.

Legal nurse consultants screen new cases for merit before they are suggested to litigators. An LNC will evaluate, analyze and render informed opinions on the delivery of health care and the outcome of this delivery.

Essential Duties of a

Legal Nurse Consultant 

Consultant locate and interview medical experts and serve as a liaison between law firms, medical experts and other parties and formulate medical legal case theories.

A legal nurse consultant provides on going support during discovery, depositions, trials and other legal proceedings.

LNC's identify deviations from nursing standards of care; research medical literature; and coordinate independent medical examinations.

A frequent role of the LNC is the management and analysis of a plaintiff’s medical records.

Consultants assist in analyzing medical records and interpret notes of physicians and nurses.

LNCs use software like CaseMap to develop and prepare medical record chronologies, charts, diagrams and timelines.

Other Job Duties

Expert Witness

Legal nurse consultants also often useful as expert witnesses, by testifying at trials, depositions, hearings and arbitrations and preparing expert witness reports for use at trial.