People ask how I ended up doing this work. The honest answer is I didn't plan it. But looking back, it makes complete sense.
Years at the Bedside
I spent over 20+ years as a surgical nurse. Operating rooms, surgical units, long shifts. That kind of experience teaches you things no textbook covers. You learn to read a situation before a complication arises. You develop instincts for when something is wrong.
I also saw how fast things moved when no one was watching. Documentation got rushed. Orders got miscommunicated. Critical details slipped through handoffs. And I kept asking myself: what happens to patients when something goes wrong and no one can explain it properly in court?
Finding Legal Nurse Consulting
I didn't know it had a name. I was looking for continuing education and kept landing on articles written by legal nurse consultants. Nurses who reviewed medical records for attorneys. Who explained what a chart actually meant. Who helped legal teams understand what standard of care required.
I signed up for CLNC training that same week.
The clinical knowledge was already there. What I was learning was how to organize it, how to write clearly for non-medical readers, and how to stay in my lane while still giving attorneys something they could use.
Starting Fillmore LNC
I launched Fillmore Legal Nurse Consulting from my home in Sunbury, Ohio. The first few cases took longer than they do now. I second-guessed myself constantly. But I knew what I was looking at. Twenty-plus years in surgical settings gives you a clear picture of what good care looks like, and what rushed or careless care looks like.
Cases started coming back. Attorneys referred colleagues. Work came in from firms across the country.
What Drives Me
Patients who were harmed deserve someone who can read their records and say plainly: here is what happened, and here is how I know. That is what I do. Every hour I spent at a bedside is useful now. This is where all of it goes.
If you have a medically complex case and are not sure where to start, that is exactly the conversation to have with me.