Winning With the Paper Trail: Documentation and Deposition Strategies in Nursing Home Cases

Course Description

In long-term care litigation, the paper trail often makes or breaks a case. This course equips attorneys, legal nurse consultants, and expert witnesses with practical strategies to leverage nursing home records in depositions and trial preparation. Drawing on federal regulations (OBRA 1987, 42 CFR Part 483), Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessments, state survey findings, and facility policies, participants will learn how to uncover systemic failures, expose inconsistencies, and strengthen legal arguments.

Through real-world case examples, sample deposition questions, and expert insights, the program demonstrates how documentation can establish or refute standards of care, foreseeability, and liability. Attendees will leave with tools to master the records, frame compelling deposition strategies, and enhance outcomes in nursing home litigation.

Syllabus

1. Identify the most impactful types of regulatory and internal documentation in nursing home cases
2. Master how to leverage nursing home records to strengthen deposition strategies
3. Apply OBRA, MDS, survey findings, and policies as the backbone of testimony
4. Anticipate defenses and counterclaims by dissecting the documentation
5. Use documentation to establish or refute facility knowledge, standards of care, and foreseeability