The Unique Role of Legal Nurse
Consultants in Litigation
Have you ever interacted with a member of the opposing counsel’s team
and noticed the designation “legal nurse consultant,” or “LNC,” after their
name? Did you wonder what that individual’s role was or even what
uniquely qualified them to be a legal nurse consultant? A legal nurse
consultant is a registered nurse and a unique member of the litigation
team. Legal nurse consultants bring their health-science education and
clinical expertise to bridge the gap between healthcare and medically
related issues in the litigation process. The primary role of a legal nurse
consultant is to evaluate, analyze, and render informed opinions about
the medical issues, delivery of healthcare, and resultant outcomes in
the context of applicable legal standards.
Legal nurse consultants work in collaboration with attorneys, paralegals, and others
involved in the legal process. The legal nurse consultant’s scope of practice does not
include the practice of law or the functions of paralegals.
Professional nursing education and experience set the legal nurse consultant apart from
By Alicia Davis, RN, LNCC
other members of the litigation team.
Just as nursing is firmly established
as a separate profession apart from
medicine within the healthcare field,
so too is the role of the legal nurse
consultant in the legal profession.
Confusion about the specific roles,
capabilities, and functions of the legal
nurse consultant may arise because,
in some settings, tasks assigned to
the nurse may overlap with those of
paralegals. Although many legal nurse
consultants have acquired knowledge
of the legal system through consulting
with attorneys and attending legal
seminars, legal education is not a
prerequisite to the practice of legal nurse
consulting—an important distinction
between the legal nurse consultant and
the paralegal. The particular legal nurse
consultant’s role, however, may include
a general working knowledge of the
relevant substantive and procedural law
and regulatory guidelines impacting the
legal nurse consultant’s case work. This
is especially important for legal nurse
consultants working on mass tort or
environmental contamination claims.
History of the Legal Nurse
Consultant Role
No one knows exactly when
nurses first gained recognition
as legal nurse consultants,
since nurses have practiced
as informal legal consultants
to attorneys for decades. For
more than 30 years, legal nurse
consultants have acted as
collaborators, strategists, and
educators by offering support
in medical-related litigation.
As the specialty has evolved,
so too have the practice areas
where legal nurse consultants
apply their skills.
During the 1980s, with the
progression of nursing malpractice
litigation, nurses were increasingly
sought to opine on the standards
of the nursing practice. Through
the process of serving as expert
witnesses, it became clear to
attorneys that nurses were uniquely
qualified to assist them in a myriad
of ways outside of the courtroom.
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