Elizabeth G. Rudolph, lawyer, nurse and legal nurse consultant, is the founder of Memphis-based Jurex Center for Legal Nurse Consulting. Rudolf writes on nurses as expert witnesses:
Expert witnesses for legal issues involving medical matters aren’t always doctors because nurses often have more firsthand knowledge about a disputed practice or protocol….”Over the last several years, nurses have been testifying either for or against nurses, and physicians testify either for or against physicians,” she said. “In the past, physicians had been able to testify for or against nurses, and in some jurisdictions they still do. But now judges have wanted nurses for and against nurses, and physicians for and against physicians.”
Once a nurse completes training from an experienced trial lawyer and acquires the required number of hours, he or she can apply for certification from the American Society of Legal Nurse Consultants. This organization does not offer a teaching program but does provide certification…
Rudolph started Jurex in 2006 after working first as a nurse and then as a lawyer on the defense and plaintiff sides of medical disputes. She has a master’s degree in nursing and a law degree, both from Vanderbilt University.
Excerpted from TheMemphisDailyNews.com.