Where do legal nurse consultants work?
Legal nurse consultants are employed by law firms, insurance companies, hospitals, government agencies, health care organizations and private consulting firms. They may be employed full-time, or work on a contractual basis from home or a private office. Depending on the level of experience and specialization, their clientele could consist of lawyers, insurance companies, health care providers, patients, businesses, and public agencies.
Where legal nurse consultants work
Legal nurse consultants may work in a variety of environments. Since their expertise is medical, it can be applied wherever health data influences a legal, insurance, or regulatory determination.
Law firms
Legal nurse consultants often assist attorneys on plaintiff and defense cases. Duties might include reviewing medical records, screening cases, preparing timelines, locating experts, and assisting with discovery and depositions. Legal nurse consultants may be employees of a law firm or may be hired on for a specific case.
Insurance companies
Legal nurse consultants analyze injury claims, disability files, workers' comp issues, medical treatment and issues regarding medical necessity for insurance carriers. They compare the medical documentation to the claim, and create a chronological clinical abstract.
Health care organizations
Nurses can work as risk managers or patient safety officers in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and health systems, and may be involved in compliance, claims review, or litigation support. Duties can include reviewing incidents, maintaining records, and assisting the organization in addressing legal issues.
Government and public agencies
Government agencies could hire nurses to look at files about benefits, disability, public health, corrections, licenses or investigations. The specific job would depend on the agency and the applicable laws.
Independent consulting practices
Independent legal nurse consultants may work for individual clients or for legal nurse consulting groups. They may work out of their homes, a private office, a client's office, or on the road for meetings or case-related work. Managing a private practice involves more than learning to interpret clinical information. You will also need to manage contracts, fees, confidentiality, secure file storage, deadlines, and records.
It is up to you to decide where you want to work and based upon your experience, how you prefer to work, whether you enjoy litigation, and your ability to establish business connections. Some consultants starting out work for agencies, or even on projects under supervision, before working on their own.