3 Steps to Start Your Case Review

INFORMATION FOR NEW LNCs

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LNCtips.com: 3 Steps to Start Your Case Review


A new legal consultant recently asked me, "How do I start my review of a case?"  She had just received her first medical malpractice case from an attorney, and she wasn't sure how to proceed.  She knew she needed to analyze the medical records but not the steps to take to get from Point A to Point B.  "That's easy," I told her.  There are just three steps to start your case review.

1)  Identify the allegations in the case. If you're working for plaintiffs, they or their attorneys should provide you with information about the circumstances of the alleged medical malpractice. If you're working for defense attorneys they will usually provide you with an Affidavit or Complaint, which will identify the allegations.  If you don't know the allegations, you'll flounder, as I recently did.  A client of the law firm where I work in Florida was served with a notice of intent (NOI) to sue him for medical malpractice. NOIs are supposed to have accompanying expert Affidavits to outline the allegations and surrounding circumstances.  However, in this particular case, an expert Affidavit was not required, so I didn't know what the case allegations were.  I reviewed eight years of my cardiologist client's records trying, unsuccessfully, to determine how he may have breached the standard of care for the plaintiff who developed breast cancer.  The plaintiff's daughter later testified that she had told the cardiologist that her mother had breast pain, not chest pain.  If I had known that allegation, I would have been able to focus my review on that set of circumstances.

2)  Gain an understanding of the medicine. Once you have a good understanding of the case allegations, conduct an internet search or review textbooks if you're unfamiliar with the medical condition or procedure.  If you don't have a good understanding of the medicine, you'll miss important information in the medical records.  For example, I have never worked as a bedside nurse with pediatric patients.  However, my law firm has represented many pediatricians for medical malpractice cases.  I've reviewed cases involving ependymoma, rickets, histiocytosis X and other conditions that I was unfamiliar with.  There is a wealth of information about these conditions that helped me understand what signs and symptoms reasonable pediatricians should have discerned.

3)  Review the medical records. Now that you have a good understanding of the medical records and the medicine, start your review of the medical records.  When I was supervising new LNCs, I identified three different ways that they reviewed medical records. No matter which method you use, keep the 4 Ds (Duty, Dereliction of duty, Direct causation, and Damages) in mind as you analyze the records.

That's it!  Three steps and you're set to start your case review.

...Katy Jones