Vickie Milazzo is a President and CEO of Vickie Milazzo Institute, Houston, TX and creating the new career opportunity of legal nurse consulting.

1. LAWCROSSING
THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF LEGAL JOBS ON EARTH
LAW STAR www.lawcrossing.com 1. 800.973.1177
Vickie Milazzo: President and CEO of Vickie Milazzo
Institute, Houston, TX
[By Judith Earley]
One day in 1981 changed critical care nurse Vickie Milazzo’s life forever
A friend of hers, who was a psychiatric by night, earning her J.D. from South Texas by auto accidents, as high-profile as the
nurse, shared her experience of testifying as College of Law. After establishing her own Rodney King case, and as groundbreaking
an expert witness in a legal case. Milazzo career as a legal nurse consultant, Milazzo as the litigation concerning Vioxx, Fen-Phen,
read the deposition from start to finish and committed herself to helping other nurses and silicone implants. Their expertise is
was instantly attracted to the relationship do the same. She opened Medical-Legal also valuable to attorneys handling cases
between nursing and the law. The term Consulting Institute, Inc., and began training involving medical malpractice, workers’
“legal nurse consultant” did not yet exist, Certified Legal Nurse Consultants (CLNCs®), compensation, and environmental issues. As
but on that day, Milazzo committed herself to registered nurses who use specialized a member of the litigation team, a CLNC®
becoming a consultant to attorneys. healthcare knowledge and expertise to helps to educate attorneys, jury members,
consult with attorneys on medical-related plaintiffs, defendants, and judges about
Milazzo said she immediately recognized cases. medical-related issues.
several things. “First of all, nurses have
tremendous healthcare skills and experience “No legal nurse consulting course existed According to Milazzo, the most pressing
and insider knowledge of the healthcare to guide me,” said Milazzo. “I literally had legal issue today is educating the public
system that attorneys simply don’t have, to write the book myself, and I established about their rights to file lawsuits in medical
and it’s extremely valuable to them,” said the first educational institute for legal nurse malpractice or personal injury cases.
Milazzo. “Any nurse willing to do a bit of consulting. Since founding Vickie Milazzo “Statistics show that 268 people die every
trailblazing could make a huge difference in Institute in 1982, I’ve taught more than day due to medical negligence,” said Milazzo.
the legal arena by consulting with attorneys 20,000 RNs how to apply their nursing skills “It’s an epidemic that causes more deaths
on medical-related cases. It only made and expertise to all kinds of health-related than AIDS, breast cancer, and car accidents
sense that attorneys needed help from legal cases-medical malpractice, personal combined.”
consulting experts behind the scenes, not injury, products liability, toxic tort, workers’
just from testifying experts.” compensation, criminal, and a wide range of Milazzo said that her greatest business
other cases where health, injury, or illness is achievement and greatest reward is making
Milazzo was a practicing nurse for six years an issue.” a positive difference in the lives of nurses
prior to creating the new career opportunity and in the country’s legal system. She
of legal nurse consulting. She said she CLNC®s can conduct research, interpret added that the person who influenced her
decided to go to law school because she medical records, prepare timelines the most was her first attorney client. “Even
believed a law degree, combined with and chronologies uncovering gaps, though the legal nurse consulting field was
her master’s degree in nursing with a inconsistencies, or tampering in medical not invented yet, he was willing to take a
concentration in education, would uniquely records, prepare reports and summaries chance and go where no lawyer had gone
qualify her to train RNs as legal nurse of medical records, and locate expert before. He gave me an opportunity to create
consultants who could offer attorneys a witnesses. “Nurses are natural detectives,” a profession that had not existed and, along
whole new level of service. Milazzo has said Milazzo. “And although most CLNC®s the way, provided a crash course on the
now been an attorney for 19 years and still work behind the scenes, they may also serve workings of the legal system.”
maintains both her nursing and law licenses. as expert witnesses.”
Working and living in Houston with her
While building her legal nurse consulting CLNC®s have consulted on cases as simple husband, Tom, Milazzo’s advice to law
practice by day, Milazzo attended law school as those involving neck injuries caused students is to live and work passionately.
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2. LAWCROSSING
THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF LEGAL JOBS ON EARTH
LAW STAR www.lawcrossing.com 1. 800.973.1177
“My passion, besides my business, is Using the 10 Strengths You Didn’t Know You Inside Every Woman: Using the 10 Strengths
traveling the world. I take 10 weeks of Had to Get the Career and Life You Want Now You Didn’t Know You Had to Get the Career
vacation every year and love visiting places is now in its fourth printing.” and Life You Want Now
such as Cambodia, Vietnam, the Serengeti www.amazon.com/Inside-Every-Woman-
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Plains of Africa, Morocco, Patagonia, and Strengths-Career/dp/0471745200
other fascinating parts of the world,”
Vickie Milazzo
said Milazzo. “I’m also passionate about
www.legalnurse.com
writing. My first nationally published book is
currently in the top 5 percent of all business South Texas College of Law
books sold nationwide. Inside Every Woman: www.stcl.edu
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