Testimonials

Our Services: Presentations for attorneys

Seminar topics presented by Patricia Iyer

Bring an experienced legal nurse consultant to your continuing legal education seminar! Presentations are geared to help personal injury attorneys understand more about nursing liability, patient safety, and personal injury litigation—they can be tailored to your needs. Here are program descriptions for liability and damages, medical records, nursing home lawsuits, and patient safety.

The author of several books on nursing topics, Patricia Iyer has presented seminars at several law firms, as well as conferences sponsored by the Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Associations, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, and the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education.

You can also see a list of Patricia Iyer's upcoming presentations and read testimonials from program participants.

Topic: Liability and Damages

Orthopaedic liability
Fractured hips, fractured skulls with closed head injuries, or fractured vertebrae with paralysis add up to huge damages. View these injuries from both the defense and plaintiff attorney perspective. An important goal for healthcare facilities is to be proactive in identifying those individuals who are at risk for falls. This session discusses the liability issues associated with fractures along with their usefulness. Additionally, specific injuries will be presented - such as mortality rates of the patient who has suffered a hip fracture. Elevation of mortality rates for this population will be discussed.

Further, a discussion will include the percent of patients who are ambulating without devices at the one year mark and the implications of this statistic. A case study of a patient who sustained a hip fracture after a fall will be presented - beginning with the incident report, followed by a case study involving a fall and head injury.

Noneconomic Damages
Is the plaintiff attorney overreaching in the claims of pain and suffering? Are valid aspects of pain and suffering being overlooked by the plaintiff attorney? This program provides a basis of evaluating the noneconomic damages claims associated with personal injury and medical malpractice claims. High damages claims, such as burns, spinal cord trauma, head injury, orthopaedic injuries, ostomies and others are presented, with an emphasis on the problems posed to the patient. A road map for evaluating a medical record for evidence of such damages is provided. The use of an expert fact witness to present pain and suffering is explored. The presenter is the editor of Medical Legal Aspects of Pain and Suffering, Lawyers and Judges Publishing Company, 2003

Topic: Medical Records

Deciphering the Medical Record
The ability to decipher the medical record is critical to personal injury litigation. The presenter is an experienced legal nurse consultant and author of Medical Legal Aspects of Medical Records (edited by Patricia Iyer, Barbara Levin, and Mary Ann Shea, published by Lawyers and Judges Publishing Company, 2006), and Nursing Documentation, 4th edition, edited by Patricia Iyer and Nancy Camp, 2005. Learn to identify the components of a medical record, when a full record is needed, and how to recognize missing pieces. The role of various portions of the medical record is explained. Strategies for summarizing records are provided. The session includes methods of detecting tampering with medical records, illustrated by actual examples.

Topic: Nursing Home Litigation

Stemming the Tide of Nursing Home Litigation
This program for defense attorneys provides concrete information about why nursing homes are sued, and suggests the highest risk aspects of gerontological practice. The speaker shares data collected for a 12 year period involving almost 600 nursing home law suits. Methods of defending nursing home claims are identified, along with strategies for documentation which support the defense strategies. Three high risk areas are explored in depth: fractures, neglect, and pressure ulcers.

Spotting the Valid Nursing Home Claim
This program for plaintiff attorneys provides concrete information about why nursing homes are sued, and suggests the highest risk aspects of gerontological practice. The speaker shares data collected for a 12 year period involving almost 600 nursing home law suits. This program helps the plaintiff attorney identify valid nursing home claims. Damages and liability issues are intertwined with an understanding of the unique aspects of nursing home litigation. Three high liability areas are explored in depth: fractures, neglect, and pressure ulcers. The presenter is the editor of Nursing Home Litigation: Investigation and Case Preparation, Lawyers and Judges Publishing Company, 2006, second edition.

Are the Golden Years so Golden: an Aging Simulation
What is it like to lose one’s senses, balanced, and peace of mind? This carefully crafted aging simulation will enable you to experience what it is like to get old. After an overview of the changes associated with aging, you will have a firsthand experience simulating aging. Step into the shoes of an elderly person as you experience changes in vision, hearing, smell, taste, and balance. The session concludes with discussion of feelings experienced during the hands on presentation, and how this information can be applied to litigation of claims involving older people.

Topic: Patient Safety

Legal Aspects of Pain Management
Either overmedication or undermedication can result in patient injury. This clinical program helps nurses understand the principles of pain assessment and the legal issues associated with inadequate pain management. The learner will identify the steps in the legal process and again an understanding of the steps in litigation. The program is loaded with information about dangerous medications, types of medication errors, case studies, and tips of patient safety. All this from the editor of Pain and Suffering.

When the Call Bell Rings: The Roots of Patient Injury
This seminar explores the roots of patient injury—the factors in the healthcare environment and within nursing that contribute to untoward outcomes. Errors and harm can result from the complexity of the system, as well as from nursing performance. Several studies have suggested that appropriate nursing care is associated with improved patient outcomes, affecting both morbidity and mortality. The roots of patient injury include communication, orientation and training, staffing, assessment and care planning, availability of information, competency and credentialing, procedural compliance, environmental safety, leadership, continuum of care, and organizational culture. The session will give an overview of the roots of injury and will further focus on 2 areas: communication and staffing. This presentation may be expanded to a full day seminar.

Testimonals for Patricia Iyer's presentations

Presentations for nurses