Category Archives: Non-Economic Damages
How Can a Qualified Medical Expert Witness Maximize the Value of Your Case?
How Can a Qualified Medical Expert Witness Maximize the Value of Your Case? Sometimes an attorney may be required to provide a medical or nursing expert witness to testify in personal injury or medical malpractice litigation. An expert witness is a person with extensive experience or knowledge in a specific field or discipline beyond… Read More »
Opioid Crisis
So how do opioids work? Opioid drugs rapidly bind to opioid receptors on nerve cells in the brain, spinal cord, gut, and other areas of the body. When opioids attach to these receptors, they reduce or block the pain signals sent from the brain and release large amounts of dopamine (known as the feel-good… Read More »
Pain and Suffering Reports
Introduction to Pain and Suffering Reports The legal nurse consultant (LNC) prepares several types of work products for the attorney-client, including chronologies, case analyses, medical cost projections, and life care plans. Attorneys use the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) 1006 report (also known as a “pain and suffering” report) to summarize their client’s medical… Read More »
Distracted Driving and MVA
Distracted Driving – Means You Too Do you talk on a hands-free phone, talk on a hand-held phone, read text messages, send text messages or use social media – while driving? Do you eat, talk, smoke, or scroll through your car’s infotainment center? Responses from American drivers in 2021 showed that 52.5% reported eating… Read More »
TBI Levels of Consciousness
Is the Patient Conscious? Different levels of Consciousness in Brain Injury Cases Evaluation of conscious pain and suffering depends on a careful analysis of medical records and first answering the question of whether the patient was conscious. Consider this case: Terry Palache was a policeman who responded to a burglary scene. One of the… Read More »
Medical Cost Projection as Lower Cost Option
Medical Cost Projections vs. Life Care Plans As the courts open back up and cases are moving forward, effective strategies for settlement are even more important to consider. Life Care Plans (LCP) and Medical Cost Projections (MCP) are often used to ensure that all potential monetary recovery for future care is investigated and protected…. Read More »
Elder Abuse
Reporting Incidents of Elder Abuse “No, you can’t pretend it did not happen. Yes, we have to report it.” This conversation between a caregiver and an administrator takes place in some healthcare facilities after a patient is injured. The fear of being fired, fined, cited, or sued results in hiding a percentage of incidents…. Read More »
Maternal Deaths
Maternal Death – A National Tragedy Maternal deaths in the United States in 1960 were 37 per 100,000 births with a decline during the 1980s into the late 1990s where it leveled off at nine per 100,000 births. After 1997, the rate of maternal deaths began rising again until 2008 when it plateaued at… Read More »
Danger in the Workplace
The Dangers of the Workplace When three Amazon workers died in one month in one state (New Jersey), that got our attention. Is that a high rate or a low rate for this type of work? In 2019, 5,333 workers died in the U.S, and about 20% of the worker fatalities occurred in… Read More »
Analyzing Medical Records/Pain and Suffering Reports
Analyzing Records for Damages “The proof is in the pudding.” “The devil is in the details.” You know those expressions – they remind us that cases are won and lost on the details. The detail-oriented inspection of medical records is time-consuming yet rewarding in revealing what happened to a patient as a result of… Read More »
