About me . . .
When I graduated as a registered nurse back in 1983, I was one of the few male nurses in the country - unlike today. I got into the field because I enjoyed helping people and had a fascination for medicine. Like many new RN grads, I started out on the med-surg floor at a hospital in Chicago. Although I enjoyed med-surg, it became a bit routine over time.
Within a few years I advanced to being an ER nurse, which was an education in itself. You learn to recognize and treat almost every malady imaginable and in a short period time. There was, of course, a lot of additional training involved, and I attained numerous ER-related certifications. I was fortunate enough to work with a great ER crew - wonderful doctors and nurses, who graciously shared their knowledge and helped me improve my ER nursing skills.
In 1989, I decided to try agency nursing. The combination of independence and better pay was just too appealing. As an agency nurse, I worked at hospitals throughout the Chicago area for several years - primarily in the ER, but also other areas, including PACU and employee health. One evening during an ER shift, another nurse told me about some side work she did for attorneys. I had never heard of such a thing, but it sounded very interesting.
Chicago is a great town, but those long, brutal Chicago winters eventually led me to seek a more hospitable climate. In 1993 I moved to Dallas. I continued working agency ER shifts at hospitals around DFW, but was ready for a new type of challenge. The legal nurse consulting thing still lingered in the back of my mind. One day I interviewed with an attorney who was looking for a nurse consultant. I was advised, however, that they preferred nurses with paralegal training.
Shortly thereafter, I enrolled full-time in an ABA-approved paralegal school. It was an eye-opening experience and I learned a lot. Just prior to graduation, I had the good fortune to intern with some great attorneys. I am very grateful to them for giving me my start (as well as continuing to entrust me for this important work over the many years). I began working with other attorneys as well, most of whom had heard about me through recommendations. My ER experience and education came in very handy for reviewing and analyzing cases. However, as much as I had learned from being an ER RN, the knowledge I acquired over the years as a legal nurse consultant was even greater. One of my biggest clients was initially a very successful Plaintiff attorney. Years later, however, he became VP of legal affairs for a large hospital conglomerate with over 60 hospitals across the country. I was very flattered that he continued to use me — often for very complicated, high-dollar cases — and recommend me to other Defense attorneys.
Texas tort reform drastically altered the landscape for Plaintiff and Defense attorneys - among other things. Although I still do quite a bit of work with some stellar Texas attorneys, I have fortunately been able to branch out to attorneys in other states and look forward to working with more.
I very much enjoy what I do and continue to find legal nurse consulting a very interesting and rewarding profession. I'm always learning something new. I still feel I help people, whether it be an injured party or healthcare provider defending a claim. I also think the legal community greatly contributes to the betterment of the healthcare system - perhaps by shedding light on a problem, or conversely, by discouraging a case without merit. If it were not for lawsuits, many cases would not be fully investigated and potentially helpful knowledge would remain unappreciated.