Nurse Paralegal USA

12/05/2024

We'd love to have you visit our exhibit table at the LSBA Trial Practice Seminar today, December 5, 2024 at the Sheraton in New Orleans, Louisiana. Locally owned and operated Nurse Paralegal USA will be sharing some tips on how to use nurse consultants before and during trial preparation. Stop by to enter a drawing for a complementary medical records chronology!

Kathleen Christmas, BSN, RN, LNC owner/operator
seminars

Louisiana State Bar Association

12/04/2024

Come and visit locally owned and operated Nurse Paralegal USA's exhibit table at the LSBA Trial Practice CLE on December 5, 2024, at the Sheraton Hotel in New Orleans. Kathleen Christmas, RN, BSN, LNC, owner operator, invites you to stop by and explore the valuable resources and expert insights we offer. Don't miss this opportunity to connect with professionals in the field and enhance your knowledge and practice. We look forward to seeing you there!

https://buff.ly/3BcBIym

Louisiana State Bar Association

12/03/2024

🌟 Attention Trial Attorneys🌟
📢Locally owned and operated Nurse Paralegal USA will be hosting an exhibit table at the Louisiana State Bar Association Trial Practice CLE on Thursday, December 5, 2024. 📍 Where: Sheraton Hotel, New Orleans, LA 🕘 When: All day during the CLE 🔍 Stop by our table to learn how Nurse Paralegal USA can support your practice with medical insights into causation and damages, case analysis, and more. We’re here to help with case preparation, discovery and trial presentation.
👋MOST IMPORTANTLY: LEARN HOW OUR TEAM OF NURSE CONSULTANTS CAN SERVE AS A LAST-MINUTE RESOURCE DURING TRIAL!
We look forward to seeing you there! Kathleen Christmas, RN, BSN, owner/manager. .

Louisiana State Bar Association

11/26/2024

🍂🦃 Happy Thanksgiving from Nurse Paralegal USA! 🦃🍂
This season, we are grateful for our clients and the opportunity to support justice through our work in legal nurse consulting. Your trust inspires us every day to deliver clarity and expertise in the most critical cases.
May your day be filled with warmth, gratitude, and the company of loved ones. Wishing you a safe and joyous Thanksgiving! 🍁❤️

11/21/2024

A plaintiff’s attorney recently hired me to create a chronology of the defendant’s medical records—a task quite different from the usual process of reviewing a plaintiff’s records to identify complaints, diagnoses, treatments, and evidence of pain and suffering. In this motor vehicle accident case, the defendant had been cited for running a stop sign, causing a collision with the plaintiff as he crossed the intersection. Since liability was already established, I initially wondered why the attorney wanted a review of the defendant’s medical history.
The paralegal provided a clear explanation: with mediation approaching, the attorney needed to determine if anything in the at-fault driver’s medical records could have contributed to her negligent actions. Specifically, he was looking for medications or health conditions that might have impaired her alertness.
After a thorough review, I identified several medications the defendant was taking that listed side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, and confusion. Additionally, I discovered she had a chronic medical condition that caused blurred vision. This information allowed the attorney to enter mediation with a stronger position, using details that could potentially undermine the defendant’s credibility and improve the chances of achieving the desired settlement.
Thoroughness truly makes a difference!
buff.ly/3CAAUnw

11/19/2024

Rising to the challenge
Independent Legal Nurse consultants are required to be proficient in medical records interpretation. But being the owner of a legal nurse consultant business requires additional skill sets. When I first started Nurse Paralegal USA 10 years ago, I hired a couple of nurses, provided them with a set of report templates, and sent them a case. I would quickly discover that merely providing a report template to a nurse entering this field does not begin to ensure a good work product. There were several times when I would get a report back and it was simply not good enough to send out to the client. I would end up redoing the entire report to send to the client but would still have to pay the nurse that was contracted to do the work in the first place. This was quite discouraging, to say the least! Over the years, I learned to train and mentor my subcontractors. They are required now to go through a probationary period before taking on the full duty of completing a report. It has been a pleasure to work with these nurses and to see them grow in this field. Today, Nurse Paralegal USA has six nurses that have endured the rigorous training process we require to take on complex cases. As the company owner, I am privileged to have such a stellar group of people working in the firm. Our team includes Nancy Saucier (10 years), Brandi Eagle (7 years), Beth Purkey (6 years), Corrinne Thomas (5 years), Jessica Griffin (2 years), and Roberta McDuffie (1 year). Thanks to each one of you for your integrity, hard work, and commitment to providing the best possible medical summaries and analysis for our attorney clients!

10/30/2024

Congratulations to our newest nurse reviewer, Roberta McDuffie, ACN S-BC, MSN, BSBA. Roberta is an advanced practice registered nurse with a specialty in Diabetes Education. After 24 years of managing hundreds of research studies, she retired from Tulane University in January, 2024 and joined the staff of Nurse Paralegal USA. Since joining our team, Roberta has successfully reviewed several nursing home and personal injury cases. We are looking forward to a long and productive relationship.

10/21/2024

Analyzing medical records to identify demographics

Our case synopsis was recently read by an attorney-client who asked where we found so much information about the lawsuit's plaintiff. There was only one answer to the question: "The medical records."
In an introductory paragraph of a narrative, one might state, "Mr. Smith is a 60-year-old right-handed man with a high school diploma and some college education. His employment history over the last 20 years has consisted of working offshore as a supervisor for Exxon Mobile. In addition to being married with three children, he does not smoke or drink alcohol. This is his only lawsuit related to motor vehicle accidents."
Our nurse reviewers are trained to provide attorneys with a complete picture of the individual filing a lawsuit. For this purpose, we READ the records and compile bits of information that assist the attorney in getting to know the individual, his or her history, and even the credibility of the individual's claim.
Whenever your case requires details that go beyond basics, contact a Nurse Paralegal!

11/27/2020

The Devil is in the Details: A recent case study involved review of a case regarding a hypertensive urgency and stroke. The patient presented with a blood pressure of 190/120 and an ischemic stroke. The attorney who filed the claim alleged that the health care provider's failure to quickly lower the patient's blood pressure was negligent and contributed to a worsening stroke.
It is common knowledge that a severely elevated blood pressure is unhealthy and that the average individual should maintain a blood pressure lower than 140/90. In this instance however, rapid lowering of the blood pressure could have led to decreased blood circulation in the brain, thereby worsening the stroke. The healthcare provider acted according to an acceptable standard of care by gradually lowering the patient's blood pressure.
Had the the attorney who filed this case looked beyond what seemed to be obvious, he might have saved considerable expense on his part and the aggravation of an unnecessary lawsuit on the part of those involved.
If you need to take a closer look at a case, our registered nurses at Nurse Paralegal USA would be happy to help!

Stroke is the second most common cause of mortality worldwide and the third most common cause of disability. Hypertension is the most prevalent risk factor for stroke.

11/26/2020

Happy Thanksgiving ya'll!

11/24/2020

Are your cases involving medical records on a Holiday Holdup? While the holidays bring a welcome relief from our daily schedules, they also might bring added stress if the time off is causing you to fall behind in your work output. The best way to avoid that Holiday Holdup is to have a back up plan. . and Nurse Paralegal USA would love to be a part of it! We have nurses standing by to help you get through that last minute push to organize your case and submit last minute pleadings or submissions to the medical review panel. Call at any time, we'd love to help!

11/20/2020

It really is . . Friday . .