Polaris Services

Healthcare and issues of illness or injury can come up in a variety of legal cases. From a simple interpretation of records for an attorney working on estate planning, or a full review to build a plaintiff or defense case, all legal specialties can encounter a medically related issue that they need assistance with.

Examples of cases:

Abuse/Neglect
Criminal Law
Elder Law
Estate Planning
Fraud/Medical Billing Concerns
Guardianship Needs
Life Care Planning
Medical Cost Projections
Medical Malpractice
Personal Injury
Product Liability
Toxic Torts/Class Actions

Both plaintiff and defense attorneys will find that they can strengthen their case when they get all the medical facts and have those facts interpreted correctly.

A legal nurse consultant makes it easier to get the information you need. Utilizing an RN to decipher the medical information in your case reduces chances of misinterpretation. A RN can correlate the info correctly with the appropriate healthcare standards and research, allowing you and your legal staff to concentrate on the legal issues and paperwork.

Medical Record Review & Analysis

Review and interpret medical records - ensures accuracy of facts and supporting data while making the medical-ese easier to understand

Prepare timelines of the medical events involved in a case - lets you see the relevant issues at a glance

Identify signs of medical record tampering - nurses know more about what should be in the chart and what happened between the lines that wasn't documented

Screen cases for meritorious facts before you invest in them

Apply relevant standards of care to the case & identify adherences to and deviations from the standards

Identify causation issues, assess damages/injuries and identify contributing factors - not everything is what it seems to the untrained eye

Organize the medical records

Develop written reports for use as legal team study tools

Identify deviations in billing versus treatment received/approved by insurance

Medical Cost Projections

Life Care Plans

Medical Liaison

Assist in client, witness, and expert interviews - gets you pointed in the right direction in real time

Consult with healthcare providers - make sure that all healthcare bases are covered

Attend and report on independent medical examinations (IMEs)

Interface with other consultants and service providers on the attorney's behalf

Case Support

Provide relevant medical literature searches and integrate search results into the case facts - the knowledge of a nurse makes this process more accurate and faster

Analyze the validity of research studies relied on by the experts - helps determine the strengths/weaknesses of your experts as well as your opponent's experts

Discovery and Court Preparation

Suggest questions for interrogatories, deposition, or trial

Review and analyze depositions and prior testimony

Assist with demonstrative evidence

Attend depo/courtroom proceedings

Help prepare witnesses and experts for deposition and trial