The Importance of Nurse Consultants in Long-Term Disability Claims with Shannon Fenimore

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 7 of Winning Isn't Easy. In this episode, we'll dive into the complicated topic of "The Importance of Nurse Consultants in Long-Term Disability Claims with Shannon Fenimore."

Join attorney Nancy L. Cavey, a leading expert in disability claims, and special guest Shannon Fenimore, a nurse and nurse consultant, for an insightful discussion on the vital role of nurse consultants in disability claims. They explore how nurse consultants assist in advocating for clients, particularly during independent medical examinations, and other interactions with attorneys and clients. Tune in to this episode of Winning Isn't Easy to gain valuable insights into their impact and responsibilities.

In this episode, we'll cover the following topics:

1 - An Overview of Nurse Consultants

2 - Nurse Consultants and IMEs

3 - Other Questions Regarding Nurse Consultants

Whether you're a claimant, or simply seeking valuable insights into the disability claims landscape, this episode provides essential guidance to help you succeed in your journey. Don't miss it.


Listen to Our Sister Podcast:

We have a sister podcast - Winning Isn't Easy: Navigating Your Social Security Disability Claim. Give it a listen: https://wiessdpodcast.buzzsprout.com/


Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

LINK TO ROBBED OF YOUR PEACE OF MIND: https://mailchi.mp/caveylaw/ltd-robbed-of-your-piece-of-mind

LINK TO THE DISABILITY INSURANCE CLAIM SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR PROFESSIONALS: https://mailchi.mp/caveylaw/professionals-guide-to-ltd-benefits

FREE CONSULT LINK: https://caveylaw.com/contact-us/


Need Help Today?:

Need help with your Long-Term Disability or ERISA claim? Have questions? Please feel welcome to reach out to use for a FREE consultation. Just mention you listened to our podcast.

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Please remember that the content shared is for informational purposes only, and should not replace personalized legal advice or guidance from qualified professionals.

Transcript

Shannon Fenimore [00:00:00]:
 Foreign.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:00:10]:
 Hey, I'm Nancy Cavey, national ERISA and individual disability attorney. Welcome to Winning Isn't Easy. Before we get started, I have to give you a legal disclaimer. This podcast isn't legal advice. The Florida Bar association says that I have to say this, but now that I've said it, nothing will prevent me from giving you an easy to understand overview of the disability insurance world, the games that disability carriers play, and what you need to know to get the disability benefits you deserve. So off we go. I'm really excited about today's episode because we're going to be talking about nurse consultants, the role that they can play in a long term disability case, what they do and why you just might want to have a nurse consultant looking at your case and or participating in a not so independent medical evaluation by the disability carrier plan. And we're joined today with our special guest, Shannon Fenimore.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:01:08]:
 Shannon has an extensive background in nursing and she is a legal consultant nurse. Welcome Shannon.
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:01:17]:
 Hi Nancy. Thanks for having me.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:01:19]:
 Hey, will you tell us a little bit about your background and what you bring to the table as a nurse consultant?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:01:28]:
 Sure. Well, I've been a actual nurse for many years, over 23 years and my experience and background is in multiple ICUs, medical neuro, cardiothoracic, the emergency department. I've worked in the in surgery, pre op, post op and actually in the surgical or I've worked also on regular med, surg floors, step downs. Also probably my most recent experience is working on the IV pic team which also involves the code blue team. Also quite a bit of home infusion, home care and aside from that medical device for about 10 years and the most recent in AI with bedside analytics for patients along the way. I've done some legal nurse consulting over the last few years, but now do this on a full time basis and see just a couple of home infusion patients on the side.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:02:39]:
 So that's great. You bring a wealth of experience, both from a medical standpoint and from a legal standpoint to our topic today. So we're going to talk about three things. The first we're going to talk about is an overview of nurse consultants. Secondly, we want to talk about nurse consultants and what happens during a not so independent medical evaluation. And then we're going to open this up to questions that I get frequently from my clients about nurse consultants. So before we get started, we're going to take a quick break and we'll be back in a second.
 
 Speaker C [00:03:15]:
 Have you been robbed of your peace of mind by your disability insurance Carrier, you owe it to yourself to get a copy of Robbed of your peace of mind, which provides you with everything you need to know about the long term disability claims process. Request your free copy of the book@kvlaw.com today.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:03:40]:
 Welcome back to Winning Isn't Easy. Now we're going to talk about an overview of nurse consultants and let me set the stage for a second. In my ERISA disability and individual disability practice. There are times when the disability carrier plan will schedule my client for what I call a not so independent medical evaluation. The disability carrier might have a question about the diagnosis, but more often than not they have a question about what the patient policyholder's actual restrictions and limitations are. Because ultimately the carrier has to determine whether the claimant can, based on those restrictions and limitations, do their own occupation and any occupation. I find that independent medical evaluators who are hired by the disability insurance company or plan are not working for, for you, the patient, and they're certainly not working as an advocate to help you get the disability benefits. So I always think that there should be some protections.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:04:46]:
 One of the first things I try to do is to get the disability carrier plan to agree to videotape the ime. And there are times when either the disability carrier or plan or the doctor says no, if that happens, then I go to plan B, if you will, and that's the nurse consultant. So Shannon, tell us, what is a nurse consultant?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:05:13]:
 To basically sum it up, it's a registered nurse utilizes their medical expertise to assist attorneys in understanding complex healthcare matters within legal cases. So we're basically bridging the gap between medicine and law in providing insights that are crucial for the case development.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:05:35]:
 Now, in the context of a disability insurance claim, can you tell us what other cases that you handle? And then we're going to talk more about the actual role that you play in a long term disability case. So generally, what kind of cases do you handle or nurse consultants handle?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:05:57]:
 Generally speaking, it's a lot of medical malpractice, personal injury, workers compensation, tort, catastrophic injury, death, wrongful death, those type of cases.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:06:13]:
 Okay, now can you tell me what role does a nurse consultant play in a long term disability claim?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:06:24]:
 So here would be some examples. Functional impairment with evaluating records to connect the claimant's medical condition to their physical or mental limitations, showing how these impairments prevent work. Consistency in the medical evidence, identifying the inconsistencies or gaps in the records that could weaken the claim or suggest how to address them. Understanding policy language to help correlate medical facts with specific Definitions of disability in the insurance policy, such as own occupation or any occupation.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:07:06]:
 Right. So from my perspective, I always start out with a disability insurance policy because I want my client and any expert I handle to or higher to understand what the definition of disability is. So sometimes it's the inability to do the material and substantial duties of their occupation. So I also give the nurse, if you will, the definition of occupation. So you can hear from Shannon that understanding these definitions are really important in the beginning part of her role. The other thing she said that I think is really important is connecting the dots, and that's causation. We're not talking about necessarily legal causation, we're talking about medical causation. And by that, Shannon, we mean that the question becomes whether or not the person who has this diagnosis has a consistency with the symptoms and whether this is all consistent with the diagnostic studies.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:08:05]:
 Would you agree? So assuming that you do agree, then what will happen is the other thing that's important is to have a nurse like Shannon look at records, particularly if we think there's a gap between what should be in those records and what's in the records. So, Shannon, how do you help us lawyers, if you will, fill in those gaps between what may be in the medical records and what we nearly have to, you know, prove in a case?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:08:35]:
 Okay, so here's a few examples. So I help the attorneys by breaking down the complex records into clear, actionable insights, identifying the gaps and consistencies in the documentation, sometimes even, you know, a lot of missing or tampered with at times, and then highlighting how a claimant's condition impacts their ability to work, which is key to providing the disability. And so basically translating the medical jargon into, you know, legal strategy, saving, you know, attorneys time and resources to build a case on solid evidence.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:09:20]:
 And of course, as Shannon has pointed out, what's ultimately important is to, once we've established the connection, if we, if we need to, is to really address the person's functional restrictions and limitations. And ultimately that, of course, is why generally the IME is being scheduled, because the disability carrier plan really disagrees with the treating physician's opinion about restrictions and limitations. Now, so what role do nurse consultants play generally? And then in a long term disability claim, do. Do you attend imes?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:10:00]:
 Yes, as a matter of fact, Nancy, legal nurse consultants can, and I actually do attend IMEs.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:10:07]:
 What type of IMEs do you attend.
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:10:13]:
 Generally? A lot of personal injury, of course, for long term disability and workers compensation are probably the majority of the IMEs that myself or A legal nurse consultant would attend.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:10:27]:
 Generally, how do you prepare for attending an ime?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:10:36]:
 We basically depending on what the attorney specifically wants. But it would be interviewing the, the client beforehand of the things of what to expect, what not to expect, what can and cannot be asked in an IME, and you know, what type of setting, what type of tests that they might do for that individual along those lines.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:11:08]:
 Okay. And I presume that you review medical records to familiarize yourself with the case and to prepare the policyholder. Would that be correct?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:11:22]:
 That is correct. Along with some legal documentation like, such as the demand letter, civil code of procedure that is sent usually from the attorney.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:11:33]:
 Okay. All right. So we've, we've covered sort of an overview to set the stage for the next part of our podcast where we're really going to dive into what happens in an IME and the role of the nurse consultant and how you should be preparing. So let's take a quick break. Welcome back to Winning Isn't Easy. We're here with our special guest Shannon, who is a nurse consultant and the legal context. And we're going to delve into the not so wonderful world of independent medical evaluations. So first off, can you tell me what suggestions do you have for a client to prepare for an independent medical evaluation? Because they've never had an independent medical evaluation.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:12:42]:
 They've seen their physician with whom they have a trusting relationship, but now they're going to be sent off to a stranger who will ultimately have an impact on whether they get their benefits or whether they continue to get their benefits. So what suggestions do you have for a client to prepare for an ime?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:13:01]:
 Okay, so the suggestions that we would have or what we would typically do is of course, review the medical records to have familiarity with their medical history to ensure the accurate and consistency during the examination, understanding the purpose of the ime, knowing that the examination is conducted by a physician hired by the insurance company and can help also set appropriate expectations. It's about being, you know, honest, consistent, providing truthful and consistent answers to the examiner and avoid any unnecessary information and answering directly without volunteering additional details that may not be relevant. Also, a consultation, like I had mentioned meeting with their attorney or, you know, actually having a, usually I would say around a 10 to 15 minute phone call to prep or however much time that they need before the independent examination.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:14:13]:
 So let me ask you this, and I'm of two minds of the answer to this question. Do you think that a person who's going to be undergoing an IME should be reviewing their Medical records or is that something that just you and the attorney should be doing?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:14:31]:
 Well, I definitely think it's important for the client to review that, to be fresh on their mind, to once again give clear, concise information, but not offer any information that is not relevant, that isn't directly related to the independent medical exam.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:14:53]:
 So as I said, I'm of two minds. Sometimes I have a situation where there has a problem in the medical records. Maybe there's a lack of consistency or something just doesn't make sense. I will try to make sure that you and I have had a discussion about those particular medical records and I may ask you to discuss that with a client because sometimes, quite frankly, it comes better from you than it comes from me. But one of the dangers in reviewing the medical records is that I find that the client is then inclined to try to tell their story in the context of their medical records, which then leads the IME doctor to kind of cherry pick that medical history and say, well, they're not really a good historian. Do you agree with me in that situation?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:15:43]:
 Yes, I do. Absolutely.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:15:45]:
 You know, the way I think the cases should be presented during the course of an IME is you're not, the client is not there to recite the medical history the doctor can read. And I will tell my clients, if the doctor starts asking you about your medical records or your history, then I say you tell them, read the medical records. That's the medical records. Tell the story of my medical condition. If you have a specific question, I'm more than happy to answer that because I don't want this to become a test about their memory and their medical records. Have you seen that happen before in the context of an ime?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:16:25]:
 Yes. And I think that's why it's so important to thoroughly review this beforehand because many clients will just be become very nervous even if they were prepped, and they just forget. And a lot of times when you're nervous, you just tend to divulge unnecessary information that could hurt you or may not be accurate.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:16:47]:
 Right. I call that verbal vomit. So I warn my clients about verbal vomit. Now let me ask you this. I like some lawyers have videos for different kinds of IMEs. So if it's an ortho back IME, I have professionally prepared videos that they can watch in anticipation of the IME that will give them a sense of some of the tests. But I, but I also want my nurse consultant to have a separate discussion. So I want to use the IME sort of as a prep and then I want my nurse to say, all right, these are the tests that are going to happen.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:17:33]:
 This is the test. And by the way, if you do X, Y or Z, that means that you're a fraud or malingering. So we don't want you to do X, Y or Z. Do you agree with that approach or have you seen other approaches to use of video in preparing a person for their ime?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:17:55]:
 I have not seen that very often. But while, you know, general information, videos can provide, you know, an overview of the process of the ime, it's more beneficial for the clients to have probably personalized guidance from their attorney or legal nurse consultant to address, you know, specific concerns or expectations.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:18:16]:
 Okay, so let's talk about the actual ime. Many times in the context of an ERISA case, my client will walk in and the doctor says, well, here's all sorts of forms to fill out, including a medical history, to which I say, that's not an ime and you're not going to fill out forms. Sometimes they will cancel the ime, sometimes they will go forward. So let me ask you this. Have you observed IME providers asking the clients to fill out the forms? And if so, what have you told the person to do or not do?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:18:53]:
 So there's typically in the demand a list of objections and things that cannot be done or asked, which I would review with the client prior to this. And if the physician does cross that line, I object. And that is something that I'm going to put and include in my report. And generally speaking, I'll object and we move on. Usually they're pretty respectful. Sometimes you won't get some that are so respectful in that manner. But, you know, just to, you know, stop that process. Because like, like, you know, we were just discussing before, these clients get very nervous and they forget everything that they probably have discussed with you.
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:19:38]:
 So you're there to, you know, not be biased, but support and carry that along.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:19:44]:
 Get them back on track.
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:19:45]:
 Yeah, back on track.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:19:47]:
 So sometimes the IME provider will ask for diagnostic studies. And I, of course, as part of my nose, you can't do unless it's like a neuropsych eval where they're going to do testing. I object and say, you know, if you want X rays, we'll go get the X rays and then you can look at them. What are your. Have you experienced that where an IME provider wants to do some form of diagnostic testing and what happens when there's an objection?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:20:23]:
 Most of the IMEs that I've been in, you know, it Outlines it. So I take a copy of the demand civil code of procedure, just in case the physician, we know that they have it, they have all of those diagnostics, and usually the medical history is going to be an objection. Or would you like to review this copy again? I brought an extra copy for you, and that usually just stops it right there.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:20:50]:
 So you made an interesting point there. Sometimes my clients say, I want to go to this IME and I want to bring the doctor my box of medical records. And I say, hell no. The reason I say that is it's not our job to educate the IME provider. More often than not, in my experience, what I see is that the IME doctor doesn't have the medical records and has a nurse summary done by the insurance company or plans. Nurse, what is your experience with doctors having the medical records or summary? And the clients thought that they want to come in and supplement the doctor's chart with their entire medical records.
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:21:39]:
 Well, I have not had that happen if that were the case. I always have the clients, I'm in very close contact up into the IME to meet me before we go in the front door, even to check in. I'm there with them for. From the very start and recording and to the very end. So, you know, we're there to really guide them and, you know, be an advocate in the sense of the process and doing it correctly and not letting them, you know, self, you know, unknowingly injure.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:22:21]:
 I'm sorry, Sabotage. Right.
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:22:23]:
 Sabotage, yes. Thank you. The case. So, you know, it's never, ever come to that. And I haven't really had a client try to actually do that, but I could see where that could happen.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:22:35]:
 So, Shannon, tell us how you go about recording what happens in the course of this evaluation. Are you taking notes? Are you audio recording it? What are you doing?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:22:47]:
 What I'm doing is I'm auto recording it from the moment that we walk into the office, check in, in the waiting room until we go back. Usually it's not a very long wait if. If nobody's discussing anything. Of course, I'm not going to necessarily record just silence and then recording basically until we're in that room. I know that every part of the examination is done and we're about to walk out. And then I also take notes while I'm recording and I have just different diagrams to, you know, take down some notes. So I'm doing it in various ways so I don't miss any piece of information, pertinent information, and write a very concise Thorough report.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:23:32]:
 So obviously one of the most important parts of the evaluation is not only the actual evaluation in terms of testing, but I see physicians asking questions about what the person does in terms of activity of daily living. And they're comparing and contrasting that to forms that the claimant has filled out in the course of their case called daily activity statements or statement of activities. So talk to us about how you think a patient client should be asking questions or answering questions about ADL's. Obviously it's got to be an honest answer, but what suggestions do you have for how they should go about answering that kind of question?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:24:22]:
 Just basically not giving a extended amount of information, just being very one to two words, one sentence, and exactly what they asked. You don't need to go into details.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:24:39]:
 So one of the things I tell my clients is think about this. Good days, bad days. In other words, on a good day I can do X, but then I pay for it. And this is how I pay for it. And on a bad day, this is what I can and cannot do. So I don't like. I don't like pain scales of 0 to 10. I don't like averages.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:24:59]:
 I like the good days and bad days approach. What do you think about that as a way to answer questions about activities of daily living?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:25:07]:
 I think in a layman's term, for the client to understand it. I think that keeps it very simple and answers the question appropriately. I really do like that approach.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:25:20]:
 So as you well know, disability insurance companies and plans aggressively use surveillance. And I'm not suggesting to anybody who's listening to this that in fact there is surveillance on you, because I don't know. But I tell my clients that when there's a not so independent medical evaluation scheduled, it's because they've either had surveillance on you and caught you doing something they think is inconsistent, they've seen something in your social media account that leads them to believe you're more active or they're actually surveilling you the day before, the day of, and the day after. This independent medical evaluation, have you had, in the course of your experience any discuss, any discussion with a physician about surveillance or has a physician ever suggested. Well, you answered the question this way, but I've seen a surveillance report of you doing X, Y and Z. Explain. What are your thoughts about that?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:26:22]:
 I mean, of course that can happen with the examiner asking when they're speaking about their daily activities. I have not had that come up in an ime. Not that it. I mean, it could, but you know, the client should just be truthful about their capabilities and inconsistencies can be detrimental to their claim.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:26:45]:
 So let's move on to another topic. You, you've prepared for the ime, you vet with a client, you've attended the ime, now you're going to prepare a report. In my view, I think there are two reports that get prepared. One is your initial report concerning your observations of the IME and how it was conducted. So let's. I'm going to stop right there and ask you that question. Then I'm going to go on to a second question. What do you do after the IME to memorialize what you've observed and your comments and thoughts?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:27:26]:
 Okay. So I would document a detailed, objective account of the ime, including the examiner's actions, the client's responses, and any other pertinent observations. And then a report is provided to the attorney to support the client's case.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:27:46]:
 So let's say, for example, we have an orthopedic issue. You and I both know that under the American Academy of Orthopedics guidelines, they are supposed to be doing certain things during certain types of evaluations. I'm assuming that you are using that as a checklist in the course of the evaluation to see whether or not they're in fact doing the testing that they should be doing. Is that correct?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:28:13]:
 Yes, we would also notate that.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:28:15]:
 And then when you're doing your report, are you commenting on the testing that they did and what was observed? And are you also commenting on the testing that they should have done but didn't do?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:28:30]:
 Yes, on both.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:28:31]:
 Okay. There are some times where my clients will report back to me and say, oh, the doctor said I was really disabled and I couldn't do my job. And of course you get a report that says something completely different. Do you note in your report those kinds of comments by physicians about their observations or thoughts about a person's ability to work or whether they're disabled or not?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:28:54]:
 Well, I typically record the entire session, so it's on record. And you know, if those are type of questions that could be objected, I would immediately object that.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:29:10]:
 So let me ask the second question, and that is we get the IME report and sometimes I think IME reports are great works of fiction because what allegedly happened during the IME is not consistent with what the doctor's report says. So do you ultimately review the physician's report and comment on the report? What occurred in the exam, what didn't occur during the exam, any comments or conclusions that the physician reached that you think are wrong.
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:29:50]:
 I mean, if I'm provided that information and asked by that attorney to do that. Absolutely we can. Yes.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:29:55]:
 Yeah. I mean, that's generally something I always do. Because if there's some a conclusion in this report that doesn't, that isn't consistent with my nurse's observations or what my client told me, then I, I want my nurse to, to comment on that. If the physician has said that they, in their report they did a test that they didn't do, is that something that you think you as a nurse consultant should be commenting on and what impact that might have had on the physician's conclusions?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:30:34]:
 Yes, because we're there to critically review the IME report to identify those inaccuracies or omissions if discrepancies are found, such as a test being documented that was not performed, and highlight these issues to challenge the credibility of the report.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:30:55]:
 I have one other question before we take a break. And I've had this happen a couple times and once was when we were actually videotaping. So instead of a nurse, we were allowed to videotape the exam, except for the physician put his butt, if you will, between the camera. So here's the camera, here's his rear end and here's the patient so that the camera only was able to have a 15 minute view of his rear end. Have you ever had something like that happen? And if so, how should that be addressed by a nurse? In other words, the physician is interfering with your observation of the evaluation.
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:31:41]:
 I will bring it to everybody's attention to basically take a pause that I am not able to see or hear clearly what's going on. I will quickly adjust where I need to go and either reposition myself depending on what type of room. I mean, because it can vary quite a bit. But I want to be able to get the most accurate, detailed information looking at, you know, the examiner and the client as well. So, you know, even if it's a recording and it's not being videoed, I would do the exact same thing.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:32:20]:
 Excellent. Excellent. Well, we've covered a ton of information in this section, so let's take a break and we will be back in a second.
 
 Speaker C [00:32:32]:
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 Nancy Cavey [00:33:12]:
 Welcome back to Winning Isn't Easy. We're here with Shannon Fenimore who is a nurse legal consultant who handles claims in the context of personal injury, malpractice workers comp and long term disability. One of the questions that I get all the time when I am recommending that we use someone like you is well, how does nurse consultant get paid? What's the answer to that?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:33:40]:
 Generally we have an hourly fee depending on what type of service. If it's an ime, it can be like just a set rate. It's calculated just a little bit differently. And other services that we do have a different fee rate because it could include travel experts, locating experts and such. But generally I would get paid from the law firm or attorney directly. I know that there's other cases that it could be potentially through the insurance company, but generally it is from that law facility that pays.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:34:15]:
 So basically you've got one fee, if you will, probably an hourly fee for medical review and analysis of a medical chart and your recommendations. That's right.
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:34:26]:
 That's correct.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:34:27]:
 And then so if you're going to the ime, it's going to be a charge for reviewing the medical records to prepare, probably reviewing the policy, probably a consult with the attorney so that they're prepping you and probably a pre meeting with the client, travel to an attendance at the evaluation and then preparing a report. Would that be a fair analysis of the tasks that you would be doing in the context of an IME for which obviously you need to be paid?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:35:02]:
 Yes, that's a fair analysis of it. Okay.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:35:05]:
 Now we've spent a lot of time with me asking you questions. So let me ask you this. In the course of this discussion, are there any questions that we haven't asked you about the IME process or your preparation for it that will be helpful to our clients?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:35:27]:
 Nancy, I feel like we've covered quite a bit and even more, there's really nothing else other than, you know, just try to not be nervous going to these examinations, sticking with very just accurate, truthful, short answers, having a good communication line with whoever's going to be observing it. And if you need more time or have last minute questions, I'm always available. Whether you call me after the initial consultation and prep, that's not an issue at all. We just want you to be confident, be comfortable and get this examination over. You've got a legal nurse consultant with you. We're prepared. We just want some smooth sailing and get it done.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:36:25]:
 Sometimes my clients will say to me, well, isn't that person there to be my advocate? And the answer is, well, we're there.
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:36:37]:
 We're not going to have biases. We're there to guide you, but we're there to report on exactly what we hear and see and, you know, objections if it's not following, you know, the demand letter of what this examiner can and cannot do.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:36:54]:
 So I, I think the answer obviously is the lawyer is the advocate. You are the expert observer and recorder and you know, prepare preparation, preparing the client for this evaluation. Would that be a fair statement?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:37:09]:
 Very fair statement. Inaccurate, yes.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:37:11]:
 And my last question, you've done a marvelous job. If someone wanted to hire you or an attorney wanted to hire you as a legal nurse consultant in their case, be it malpractice, PI, workers compensation or risk of long term disability litigation, how would they get a hold of you?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:37:31]:
 Probably the quickest, easiest way is email, phone by text or call my business lines and my email is Shannon S H A N N O N Edlinkslnc.com so that's Shannon S H A N O N@medixlnc.com the phone number is 817-235-1708.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:38:02]:
 And just one more question. I know you're Florida based, but do you handle cases across the United States?
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:38:09]:
 Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. I also have a compact license and I think to date there's 41 states. I've actually worked in multiple states as well. So yes, I'm very much so national. Unless it's a state that specifically requires a nurse to be active in that state. And only a nurse from that state could work certain cases, like, say, nursing home cases. Yes, I can work nationally.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:38:38]:
 And obviously you cross courts. In other words, you're in circuit court, state court court, you can be in Social Security court, you can be in workers comp court, you can be in federal court with ERISA claims, subject of course, to any jurisdictional limitations, either by case law or by statute. So this was fantastic. I thank you for joining us. And I think you have answered a lot of questions that our clients have and have given them peace of mind. So thank you.
 
 Shannon Fenimore [00:39:10]:
 Thank you so much, Nancy, for having me. I've really enjoyed this.
 
 Nancy Cavey [00:39:14]:
 Great. So we hope that you've enjoyed this week's episode of Winning Isn't Easy. If you've enjoyed this episode, please like our page, leave a review, share it with your family or friends and subscribe to this podcast so you'll be notified every week of a new episode. So I want to give a special thanks again to Shannon and see you next time. Thanks, Sa.