I provide a service to attorneys in the state of Missouri. I review their medical charts in any case involving medical issues - medical malpractice, personal injury, product liability. I juggle several cases at a time ... and do both plaintiff and defense work. I take the medical records and review them and try to summarize the records into a format that's easily accessible to the attorneys. Then, I usually put together an opinion report that basically outlines when the injury occurred, what the long-term issues are and what the long-term prognosis looks like. Sometimes, I have to meet with the parties involved. I do occasionally have to testify in court. I bill my clients hourly. If my caseload gets big enough, I'd love to hire some other consultants.
What's your career history?
I've been a nurse for 15 years. I was a cardiothoracic nurse at St. John's for a few years before I worked for a large firm (The Strong Law Firm, now Strong-Garner-Bauer PC) as a nurse paralegal, for a few years. Then, I worked for Kennedy Contractors as a safety and health administrator, kind of their occupational health nurse. ... Kennedy merged with (Emery Sapp & Sons Inc.) out of Columbia, so my position there was finished. I knew that there was a need for (medical-legal consulting) in the community, because there are a lot of attorneys who don't necessarily need a nurse full time on staff, but they do have cases where they could use some medical expertise to look through the records.
What drew you to apply your nursing skills in the legal field?
Early on, I had a friend who worked at Strong, and she informed me that nurses help review the medical charts, and it just sounded very interesting. My original plan was to go to law school. I had the opportunity to go, but then I changed courses. I definitely always had an interest in the law.
Could you see yourself going to law school someday?
I might. I'm not at a stage right now where I would do that. I'm really enjoying what I do.
How do you keep from sympathizing with one party or another?
You do just have to look at the evidence. My goal is to be very objective, and if the case does not have merit, I let the attorney know that. Or, if I'm hired by the defense attorney, and their client was actually at fault, I let them know that. They know what the issues are going in, and what to expect from the opposing side.
What's the most challenging part of your work?
It's really getting the word out to attorneys that my services are available. I send promotional packages that include my brochure and my business card to let them know that (the service) is available.
With the current nursing shortage, do you ever get job offers in that field?
Yes. In fact, I just talked to somebody about a (nursing) job offer a couple weeks ago. But I really love what I'm doing here, and I feel like it's kind of my first passion, being able to deal with legal issues.
Tell us about your family.
I'm married with three kids. My husband, Todd, has a Shelter insurance agency. Connor is 11; Jackson is 8; and Olivia is 3. We travel a lot. Connor races bicycles, and Jackson competes in tae kwon do.
Interview by Features Editor Maria Hoover.[[In-content Ad]]
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