Services Provided
I interpret whether or not the standard of care was upheld. For example, in a SANE case, was the evidence collected according to standard of care/chain of command?
Review Standard of Care
Review Discovery & File a Report
I compile the most important and meaningful aspects of a case, as well as, providing a report defending the facts.
Medical records can be confusing to anyone, especially if you are not familiar with navigating them. Interpreting medical records can have a serious effect on the outcome of the case.
Interpret Medical Records
Provide Testimony at Depositions & Trial
I have been an expert witness in multiple states. I have testified for the defense, as well as, the prosecution.
Provide Expertise in All Medical Specialties
With 32 years of experience, in several different areas of nursing, I am able to look at any and all aspects of a case.
Educating Attorneys on the Details of Medical Records
If an Attorney googles “Subarachnoid bleed,” worst case scenario will appear, however there is a very broad spectrum with brain bleeds. They grade them 1-4, they measure the pressure with a ventriculostomy. In an assault case a guy ends up with a pneumothorax after he was punched in the head. After careful review of his medical records, it was noted he began to withdrawal from alcohol and needed a central line and the pneumothorax was from the insertion of the central line. In a sexual assault case what did the DNA show, the condition of the sperm has to do with when it was placed there.
Legal nurse consultants: a valuable resource
By Mike Murphy
Posted: 2:45 am Tue, March 26, 2013
The elderly man was accused of raping someone in his family, and Kelly A. Layland, a sexual assault nurse examiner by trade, was asked to look over his case and provide some direction for the attorney representing him.
Layland, who is studying to be a legal nurse consultant, reviewed the evidence and provided an analysis of the case for the man’s defense. She studied the results of a rape kit and investigated the damage supposedly done to the victim.
She said she not only spent nearly a week interpreting medical terminology for the lawyers, but also helped come up with a plausible strategy to bolster his defense.
After 30 hours of research, the medical evidence was clear that the man could not have committed the crime. The attorney may have come to the same conclusion, but the help Layland provided streamlined the case.
“It’s a lot for a lawyer to research all the medical aspects of a case but also the legal aspects,” Layland said. “A nurse can help analyze that.”
The outcome is one of several reasons why many law firms have not only used legal nurse consultants but also have hired them on staff. It’s another way to show why their use is increasing in areas around the country, although it’s common locally.
Making use of their services is becoming more of a common practice around the country for many reasons, said Alexa Schneider, who has taught legal nurse consultant courses at the University of Rochester for more than 10 years.
“Attorneys are becoming aware of legal nurse consultants, and they help with their caseloads,” said Schneider, who has not only worked as a nurse consultant but also has served as an expert witness. “I think it’s a slow grow, but a lot of firms and attorneys are having to do business differently.”
As many businesses — law firms included — look to tighten belts, legal nurse consultants can save money in addition to providing a valuable service, Schneider said.
“It’s cheaper to have a nurse come in and work on some cases,” said Ann Geyer, another legal nurse consultant student who has worked 18 years in cardiac nursing. “On some cases, the nurses will have the same information.”
Besides analyzing injuries and interpreting medical lingo, nurse consultants can be asked to help determine the merit of a case, establish medically plausible timelines and serve as expert witnesses, for the plaintiff or defense.
“We really help both sides,” Schneider said.
Layland and Geyer recently worked as interns in the Monroe County Public Defender’s office.
Monroe County Public Defender Tim Donaher said nurse consultants fill a need, and their work is generally outstanding, particularly in understanding the medical lingo and determining the nature of injuries, he said.
“We find them invaluable,” Donaher said. “They can point us in the right direction medically.”
The work can pay off for them as well.
Some of the graduates are hired by law firms; others do the work on a contract basis. Given the nature of what they are asked to do, the market for their services is consistent.
“We never went without work,” Layland said. “We all had cases. I think it helped the cases.”
Timothy P. Donaher
Monroe County Public Defender
10 N. Fitzhugh Street
Rochester, New York 14614
(585) 753-4531