Editorial Narrative Summary
Editorial Narrative Summary
Also a real-time collaborative and editable document (aka “living document”), the pinnacle of the package, this 5-10 page summary is a collection of the facts of the case (with hyperlinked references to original PDF’s) and relevant opinions of the NP reviewer.
The summary is written in an organized by-topic format to cover critical events in an “editorial” fashion. This format is easier to digest when you’re needing an overview of the findings and main points to consider covering in your opening and closing statements.
If you request it, the NP may include links to relevant case studies or research in the literature that supports the standard of care position. The NP reviewer is well-equipped with the vocabulary, comprehension, and database access (not available to laypersons nor to RNs–providers only!) to search the literature and locate the ever-changing standard of care practices. Furthermore, having had additional formal training in research and statistics above and beyond your average RN legal nurse, she can more efficiently evaluate the studies for robustness and relevance.
WHY THIS MATTERS
First and foremost, the opinions contained in Narrative Summary document will help you to make a clear decision about whether or not to take the case in the first place. If you decide, based on all the findings, that the case has no merit, you’ll save yourself all the time and resources pursuing a case that is not likely to win.
As you well know, accepting a meritless case for lack of full understanding of the issues at hand could cost thousands in–often uncompensated–man-hours, while diverting your attention away from more certain, and potentially more fruitful cases. Furthermore, a loss will negatively impact your success ratios–never mind unjustly putting hard-working, well-meaning, conscientious medical providers through hell, which no self-respecting attorney means to do.
Certainly, declining a winnable case, simply because you don’t feel confident about your fuzzy understanding of the chronology, or because you can’t quite truly appreciate the intricacy of the convoluting facts in the initial weeks of the case, could potentially cost your firm millions in potential winnings–and worse, deny your client the justice and financial compensation they deserve.