FAQs

Question:
Why use a CLNC^® instead of a consulting M.D., paralegal, or my in-house consulting RN?

Answer:
Cost and accuracy! Most M.D.'s charge $300-$500 per hour and will mainly focus on reviewing M.D. progress notes, consult progress notes, labs, and radiology results. This type of review is common for M.D.’s because it is their common practice throughout their career, this is the way they review a medical chart in a practicing environment. Very few M.D.’s will review the Nurse’s Notes which are the area of the patient’s chart that will have the most information about the care and treatment the patient received. The Nurse’s Notes are the area with timeline information of the patient’s care and also will normally be the area to find documentation of deficiencies or deviations from the Standard of Care that the patient received.

A paralegal does not have the education or practical/clinical medical or nursing experience to properly interpret a Medical Record. They are not familiar with the Standards of Care and therefore cannot report deficiencies with accuracy. In order to do so research is a big as cost for a paralegal to evaluate a medical record with no assurance of accuracy.

An in-house consulting RN is a big asset to any law firm with only a few drawbacks. They are considered an employee of the firm which increases the firm's cost of salary, taxes, insurance, office equipment and space, etc. Medical record interpretations are more accurate, but the percentage of accuracy starts to drop as the cases are in areas of nursing that the in-house RN has little or no clinical experience. It is at these times that research again is a large cost due to the nature of an RN to thoroughly research the topic in question.

As a CLNC^®, I clinically/ professionally specialize in pre-hospital transport, critical care transport, air ambulance transport, trauma / injury, and Emergency Room cases, but when a case arises that is in a specialty outside of my realm of practice or experience I am able to retain my cost effectiveness and provide accuracy to my clients by having the case evaluated by a partnering CLNC that specializes in that area practice. Therefore, a network of CLNC^®’s is the biggest asset that any law firm can have at its fingertips.

Question:
Why do you have a business address in Texas, but reside at a different location?

Answer:
I am a resident of Texas presently practicing as a Traveling Nurse in Emergency Rooms in different hospital facilities located throughout the Southwest and West Coast. The Traveling Nurse experience enables me the opportunity to practice emergency and trauma nursing at different facilities with different approaches to medical treatment of the patient within the Standards of Care. Different facilities use different formularies in their pharmacies therefore they use different medications to treat the same medical condition. This as well has afforded me the opportunity to work with multiple medical therapies for the same medical condition.

Working as a Traveling Nurse in my specialty keeps me at the forefront of cutting edge medical treatments and therapies being used in major medical, trauma, and research facilities. Many practicing CLNC^®'s consult to attorneys outside of their local-area by using Federal Express and or using electronic correspondence to communicate with their clients.

Question:
How long does it take for a CLNC^® to review a case file?

Answer:
Each case review is different depending on the amount of medical records being reviewed. An incident occurring in several hours during an Emergency Room visit can be reviewed within 3 – 4 hours versus an inpatient that has been hospitalized for days or weeks will take longer. The other factor would be the type of report the attorney requests as a review analysis, from a simple one page case summary to an extensive case review with detailed disease process, etiology, Pathophysiology, standards of care and deviations from those standards, chronological narratives, timelines, etc.

Question:
I don't need a Consulting Nurse, but I do need a Testifying Expert Witness – can you help?

Answer:
Yes. Hyperion LNC Testifying Expert Witness Referral Service utilizes the network of CLNC^®'s to find Testifying Expert Witnesses from the nursing and medical professions for every type of specialty. Hyperion LNC Testifying Expert Witness Referral Service fee has two components, the first being a “screening component” which is nonrefundable fee for review of the records of the case and the rendering of a verbal opinion of the merits of the case, prior to agreeing to locate an Expert Witness. The second component being the “locating component” which shall be a refundable fee in the event that Hyperion LNC is unable to locate an Expert Witness that is acceptable to the client. The Testifying Expert Witnesses Referral Service is a risk free service to the client. Hyperion LNC will then locate 3 candidates for the client. The client then has two weeks to interview the candidates in order to select the appropriate Testifying Expert Witness for his/her case. If none of the initial 3 candidates meet the expectations of the client, then a second group of candidates is provided to the client again until the client finds a suitable Testifying Expert Witness for the case or the Referral Service is terminated.

After a Testifying Expert Witness has been selected all billing and payments are conducted between the Testifying Expert Witness and the client, therefore completing Hyperion LNC Testifying Expert Witness Referral Service.