“Professional nursing education
and experience set the legal nurse
consultant apart from other
members of the litigation team.”
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in legal nurse consulting, although not required to
practice within this specialty area, may soon become
a key selection criteria considered by attorneys when
soliciting the services of legal nurse consultants.
A general online search revealed upwards of thirty
legal nurse consultant educational courses available
nationwide. Many of these programs offer their
participants various course-based “certifications”
and “credentials” upon completion of the curriculum.
However, only the ALNCCB maintains an experiencebased
certification examination in legal nurse
consulting and offers the only certification accredited
by the ABNS. Examination and certification through
the ALNCCB is available to licensed registered nurses
with a minimum five years clinical experience, and
an additional 2,000 hours of legal nurse consulting
practice in the three years prior to taking the
certification exam. Candidates achieving the minimal
requirements for certification and successfully
passing the required examination are granted the
designation of Legal Nurse Consultant Certified.
The Legal Nurse Consultant
and Nurse Expert Witness
In general, significant differences exist between
legal nurse consultants and nurse expert witnesses.
Many legal nurse consultants work “behind the
scenes,” either in-house or independently as
consulting experts, providing an informed, costeffective
view on what can be highly specialized
and complex medical issues. All work generated by
the legal nurse consultant is considered privileged
and confidential attorney-work product, and therefore is not subject to
disclosure in discovery. Legal nurse consultants working behind the scenes
do not typically offer expert testimony at depositions or at trial, and,
consequently, remuneration for their services is less than nurses providing
expert consultation.
Although nurse expert witnesses may engage in activities like those
of the “behind the scenes” legal nurse consultants, it is also expected
they will be willing to testify should the need arise. Nurse expert
witnesses who testify in nurse malpractice claims possess experience
and training like that of the plaintiff or defendant they are representing,
and typically will have been practicing in a similar clinical environment
contemporaneously to the event in question. Over the past few decades,
expansion of the traditional role of the testifying nurse has provided for a
greater recognition by the court that the professional most appropriate to
define the nursing standard of care is a nurse. As such, many, but not all,
nursing malpractice cases require testimony by a nursing expert witness to
establish the standard of care.
Employment and Practice Areas
As a liaison between the legal and healthcare fields, legal CONTINUED ON PAGE 24
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