Not long after 1:00 am on June 24th 2021, The Champlain Towers South collapsed, causing the death of 98 people. The 12-story beachfront condominium suffered calamity because of delays in correcting known issues with water penetration and corrosion caused by the building’s proximity to the ocean and its erection upon the sandy shores of south Florida. A class action lawsuit resulted in settlement of 997 million dollars (Mike Baker, 2021). This post is not about this case or the subsequent litigation. Instead, the Champlain Towers South is referenced as a warning of “Castles Built Upon Sand.
It is not uncommon to get a call late in the day on a Friday from a seemingly flustered attorney. The attorney needs help with elements in the case coalescing into something that can garner a settlement. Expenses are already high, experts have been obtained, and depositions have been taken, but mediation has thus far been unsuccessful, with a looming trial date. Despite having the case reviewed by an out of state legal nurse consultant, a plea for a new set of eyes on the matter is requested.
The LNC, who drafted the voluminous and costly case review, should have considered some of the fundamentals of practicing law in South Carolina. Instead, in a 300-plus page annotated, a cross-referenced report covering care, hospital policy, best practice treatment, and standards of care, the LNC has given a case summary that is as bereft of benefit as it is brevity. Despite the number of pages and countless hours billed, no considerations are given to applicable state tort laws, venue, caps, or negative attributes of the client. In this exemplar of the sand/castle framework, the proverbial “castle” is the costly, exaggerated review, and the sand is the actual merits and recoverability of the case. What the LNC presented in 300-plus pages could have been expressed in a short email followed by a phone call to the attorney; who then could have properly considered the pros and cons of moving forward, potentially avoiding the cost and stress.
An ADROIT merit review is a cost-effective summation with a “go/no go” recommendation based on all factors contributing to litigation’s possible success or failure. Where many legal nurse consultants can give a medical analysis, ADROIT goes one step further and provides a legal perspective. A successful case in one venue could be unsuccessful in another. These are all factors that ADROIT considers in its recommendations.
When a case is deemed a “go” for litigation, ADROIT is poised to further assist with expert referral and coordination, real-time deposition assistance, chronology construction, mediation and trial preparation and support, demonstrative creation, and audio-visual support.
At ADROIT, we are there to assist every step of the way.