"Doctors aren't lawyers and lawyers aren't doctors, but in medical lawsuits, their paths sure do cross. Enter independent professional Cheryl Marrs. As a registered nurse (RN) and legal nurse consultant (LNC), she's the go-to person for attorneys who need a medical resource in healthcare litigation. "I'm the eyes and ears for the medical aspects of a case," she explained. Marrs interprets records and documents — usually for the defense—and looks for medical validations or discrepancies. She can also track down expert witnesses if a case goes to trial.
"If people quit suing [doctors], my job would go away," said Marrs. "If anything, unless the healthcare system is revamped in this country, it's going to get worse."
Her business, Medical Legal Consultants of the Bluegrass, came about as a fluke. In the mid '90s, she spent two years as a nurse on the medical-surgical floor of a hospital, then four years in dialysis and renal nursing. She spent another two years as a hospice nurse, which she calls "the most emotionally rewarding job ever," noting that grief counseling service with hospice is open to anyone who has lost someone. When Marrs hurt her back in 2002 and was out of work for a year and a half, she discovered vocational rehab. "I can't say enough good things about them," she said. A counselor said it would be a shame for Marrs to waste a nursing career and suggested she look into becoming a legal nurse consultant. "I believe things are presented in your life when you're supposed to take notice," said Marrs, who researched the field, found it fascinating and started her own consulting practice in the fall of 2003.
Her husband is also self-employed, as a woodworker ("He's handy to have around the house!" she said). Between his business experience and the advice of her CPA, she was ready go out on her own. She credits Community Ventures and the Small Business Development Center with helping her get her "ducks in a row" to form an S corporation. Vocational rehab also helped Marrs with membership in the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (AALNC) and other associations. She renews her nursing license every year.
Marrs has marketed her services to the legal department of insurance companies, but 90 percent of her focus is on attorneys. "It would be shady to target hospital administrators," she said. To get her work known in the legal community, she attends the Kentucky Bar Association's annual conference to make contacts. "There are enough attorneys in Lexington and Louisville to keep me busy for a long time," she said.
As in any other profession, repeat business is a good thing. "The work product you show an attorney on the first case gets you called back," she said. "Quality work: that's what matters."
In Florida, Texas and several states on both coasts, legal nurse consulting is huge. "It's not as widespread in this part of the country," Marrs said. Many nurses don't know they can do this type of work. "They think they have to have a lot of legal know-how, but you're hired for your medical knowledge," she said. An understanding of the legal process is icing on the cake. "It comes in time, anyway," she said, "but nursing knowledge is priceless." Legal nurse consulting isn't for rookies, though. "If you're just out of nursing school or have one year of experience, you won't have a broad enough knowledge of what to look for in [legal] cases."
In her spare time, Marrs volunteers as a court-appointed special advocate (CASA). She went through the 35-hour training program to be a guardian ad litem on behalf of children. "Being a nurse and being familiar with the legal system puts me in a perfect place to volunteer with CASA," she said. One case can last months or years while she follows a child's situation and makes recommendations to the judge for the child to be placed for adoption or in foster care or sent back to the home.
Marrs also volunteers with women in recovery. "I have the ability to talk and listen to all those involved and decipher pieces of the puzzle," she said. Several years ago, she answered the phone at a rape crisis line. "There are so many organizations I would like to be a part of," she said, but not enough volunteer hours to go around. Forensic work fascinates her, and someday she'd like to be a death scene investigator, working with a medical examiner.
"I became a nurse because I like helping people and I have a heart for it," she said. "I am helping keep healthcare costs down by not allowing lawsuits with no merit to be taken to the end."
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