Attorney Profile

A woman with brown hair and wearing blue is smiling.

Education

Laurie R. Elston, B.S.N., J.D., received her Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Gonzaga University School of Law, and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Whitworth College and Eastern Washington University.

Legal Experience

As an attorney, she has represented health care providers in malpractice and licensing actions for over 25 years in Washington and California. She is currently in private practice in California and handles various medical/legal matters. She is a frequent lecturer and consultant on medical-legal issues.

Her legal experience includes serving as a Municipal Court Judge Pro Tem. She also taught tort law in the paralegal program at the University of Washington. Finally, she was the original co-chair and developer of the "Nurses Law School."

Accomplishments

Recent medical malpractice case results attorney Laurie Elston successfully represented a husband and wife who lost their full-term, healthy baby during a community hospital's negligent delivery and obtained the maximum amount available. When the Medical Board reviewed the case, they suspended the obstetrician's license for some time and imposed other practice conditions.

Professional Papers, Books, and Presentations

  • "Legal Aspects of Nursing” annual conference (1999 – present)
  • "Legal Nurse Consulting Training Course" yearly (2008 – present)
  • "Nursing Negligence and Employment Laws” SEIU Nurse 121 annual legal presentation (2013 - present)
  • "Legal Aspects of Nursing," St. Joseph Hospital/Dignity Health Systems (2016)
  • "Washington Nursing Law 2013" course
  • "Legal Aspects of Nursing," John Muir Hospital Systems (2013)
  • "Head Start Health Services and the Law," Los Angeles County Office of Education (2004)
  • Legal and Ethical Issues in Workers Compensation Case Management" CareMeridian, (2002)
  • "Legal Risks For Nurses” PESI national continuing education for health care providers (2616, 2017, 2018)
  • "School Nursing Law in California," presentation for numerous California School Districts (2002)
  • "Medical Ethics and the Law in Workers Compensation Case Management" CareMeridian (2001)
  • "California School Nursing Law" presentation for California School Districts (2001)
  • "Liability Issues in Ambulatory Surgical Care," Riverside, CA, Community Surgi-Center (2000)
  • "Telemedicine and Computerized Medical Records,'' Inland Northwest Perinatal Center Annual Meeting (1999)"
  • California Nursing Law" 1999-present
  • "Washington Nursing Law 1998" course
  • "Nurses’ Law School," Seattle, Washington (1993 - 1997)
  • California Nursing Law in Everyday Practices, Kindred Hospital, Los Angeles, CA (2004)
  • California Nursing Law in Everyday Practices, Kindred Hospital, Los Angeles, CA (2003)

Nurse Expert Witness course (1989)