Linda Stutzman

Linda J. Stutzman, a Legal Nurse Consultant is President and owner of Disability Management Insights, Inc. which provides consulting in the areas of disability management, occupational health, employee health and safety, workers’ compensation, return-to-work, and alternative dispute resolution. Linda is a Board Certified Occupational Health Nurse/Case Manager, and holds the designation of Certified Professional in Disability Management. Her certificate in Legal Nurse Consulting is from Cal State University East Bay, a program approved by the American Bar Association.

Linda served as Ombudsperson, a third party neutral, for the completed Los Vaqueros Reservoir and Dam Project under Labor Code §3201.5, Alternative Dispute Resolution for the construction industry starting in 1996.  She wrote articles entitled “Alternative Dispute Resolution – An Opportunity for Occupational Disability Management”, January 2000, and “Evidence-Based Return-to-Work Guidelines”, August 2001, both published in CWCE (California Workers’ Compensation Enquirer).  As a liaison between the legal and the healthcare communities, Linda draws from her carve-out experience and now consults in both plaintiff and defense capacities in collaboration with attorneys, insurance companies,  third party administrators, injured workers, physicians, labor, government offices, risk management departments, clients and others involved in the medical-legal process.

Prior to establishing her consulting business in 1996, Linda developed, implemented and managed Employee Occupational Health and Internal Industrial Case Management Program models in the hospital industry. These programs focused on mutually beneficial outcomes between employees and employers. With over 25 years of experience as a registered nurse, she has spent the last 15 specializing in disability management, workers’ compensation, occupational health and safety, medical case management and legal nurse consulting.

Linda periodically serves as an advisor to the Department of Industrial Relations Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation, and has testified as an expert witness to the California State Senate regarding her experience as an Ombudsperson. She has also served terms on the Board of Directors of the Northern California Chapter of the Disability Management Employers Coalition and on the Board of Directors of the Bay Area Chapter of Northern California of the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants.