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What Do Legal Nursing Investigators Do?

Legal nursing investigators are responsible for helping courts of law make judgements about medical events. A legal nursing investigator might be responsible for:

• Examining medical or insurance records
• Interpreting clinical codes and procedures
• Interviewing and documenting testimony from doctors and patients

You may work in a law office, in the legal department of a medical or pharmaceutical company, in a nursing investigator firm, or as a private contractor. You may also be called to testify as a medical subject-matter expert in a legal proceeding.

Education & Training Required to Become a Legal Nursing Investigator

To qualify for a career as a legal nursing investigator, you'll first need to complete a nursing degree and several years of experience in one or more nursing specializations (ER, surgery, rehabilitation, etc.). To become a registered nurse, you can earn a diploma, associate's, or bachelor's degree and must pass a national exam before practicing. Although there are no specific degree programs in legal nursing investigation, you can pursue continuing education or online certification courses that cover topics such as records analysis, writing legal documents, and other specific skills. Coursework in investigative techniques, forensic medicine, and legal procedures can round out your skill set.

Typical Characteristics of a Legal Nursing Investigator

When conducting a legal nursing investigation, you bring all your medical experience to the detective's office. You need to be detail-oriented when examining patient charts, pharmacology or medications, insurance billing and records, and tenacious in communicating with the legal field. You may work in a variety of settings, from corporate offices, to hospitals, to private investigators or law offices. Legal nursing investigators are skilled in interviewing people from all walks of life, tracking down inconsistencies, maintaining expert records, and seeing that justice is done.

High Demand for Legal Nursing Investigators

Nursing is the single-largest segment of the American health care industry, and job opportunities are growing. Legal nurse investigators possess a unique blend of legal and medical skills and are poised to play an important role helping resolve medical lawsuits, insurance disputes, and workers compensation claims. Lawyers, judges, juries, and the claimants who enter the courthouse depend on legal nursing investigators to get the facts straight.