Sometimes medical terminology can seem like a completely different language. In a world where phrases and Latin acronyms such as “NPO”, “BID”, and “PRN” are tossed around a mile a minute, having a licensed physician on your team is invaluable. Enter Dr. Allie.
Dr. Allison Kreiner, “Dr. Allie”, is our firm’s full-time in-house Medical Analyst. In this role, Dr. Allie assists our clients in a wide variety of practice areas - wrongful death, medical malpractice, personal injury, car accident, and environmental hazards cases to name a few. Among her many skills that help our clients every single day, Dr. Allie is able to seamlessly review and cut through the fog of medical records, to understand and read between the lines of those records, and to identify and evaluate medical expert witnesses with an insider’s view. Dr. Allie’s value to our team – and to our clients – cannot be overstated; she’s outstanding.
Who is Dr. Allie?
Dr. Allie was born and raised in Alliance, Ohio. She attended Walsh Jesuit High School, and then The Ohio State University. She completed her medical degree at Case Western Reserve University. Although growing up her desire was always to be a doctor, her main goal has always been to help people through any avenue possible. After finishing her residency, she chose to move to Peru where she did medical volunteer work for several years until she returned to America.
Upon coming back to the United States, she realized that her passion for caring about others and wanting to be of service might look different than she had always envisioned. In the institutional medical/hospital/nursing home industries, patients oftentimes have no advocates. So, instead of returning to medical practice, Dr. Allie chose to pursue a paralegal studies degree to learn how her medical skills could meld with legal skills so she could be an advocate on a larger scale. While completing her paralegal education she volunteered at Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, volunteering to help lower income individuals and families obtain justice and understand their legal rights. Upon graduating, Dr. Allie began evaluating where she could go to make the most impact in the legal profession. Enter Plakas Mannos.
How Did Dr. Allie End Up at Plakas Mannos?
At Plakas Mannos, our goal in hiring is twofold: (1) we want to hire the very best people who can make the biggest impact for our clients; and (2) we want to ensure that we are able to fulfill our employees’ professional goals and aspirations. In short, not only do want to ensure that an employee is a good fit for us, but we want to make sure we are a good fit for them. So, when Dr. Allie submitted her resume to our firm, we were hopeful our twin hiring goals would be met. Not only were they met, but they were exceeded. Dr. Allie told us she wanted to change the world through her medical/legal skills, and every day - one client at a time - that is exactly what we endeavor to do.
Want to Learn More About Dr. Allie?
Our marketing administrative assistant (also Allison!) recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Dr. Allie. This question-and-answer session provides more insight as to what exactly a Medical Analyst is, who Dr. Allie is, what she’s passionate about, and what she hopes to accomplish in her role at Plakas Mannos.
Q. After spending so much time focused on medicine what caused you to look for a new or different career path? What made you choose the legal field?
A. When I returned from Peru, I was helping care for a sick family member, and when that was ending, I had to figure out what I wanted to do because I didn’t feel like I could be as helpful to people here like I was in Peru. Through legal change you can make a vast difference in many, many lives at the same time. However, even though I am working at a law firm, I am really focused on the medical side of things.
Q. Your title with us is a Medical Analyst, what does that mean exactly? Also, would you say that this is an up-and-coming role within the legal field?
A. As Plakas Mannos’s Medical Analyst, what I do is analyze an intake to see whether it is something we want to look into further or not. Then, if we do investigate things further, whether it is a case we want to take or not. There are a lot of steps between the intake and taking the case.
I am not aware of any other doctors on full-time staff working for law firms in Ohio, many firms have access to a nurse or nurse practitioner who does my job, but I do think that with all my training as a doctor I do bring something to the table that others cannot.
Q. How do you see your role here evolving, or how would you like it to evolve in the future?
A. I am happy with how my role is here and am always looking for ways to improve our processes. We have excellent personnel across the board, and as of recently we do have a nurse working here as a law clerk, Garret, and he is fantastic, his medical knowledge is incredible it has been very nice to have someone else medical here to talk to who understands medicine to collaborate with.
Q. What do you think makes Plakas Mannos unique?
A. This is the first place I have ever worked that is truly team based although most places say they are. From the first week, I felt comfortable being able to take something to Lee Plakas, our managing partner, and feeling like he would be receptive and open to feedback. It is a place where you really feel like you’re valued and your opinion matters. It is a great place to work, and there is no one here that I don’t like working with. When our team digs into a case, we pride ourselves on digging in to uncover every little stone and chase everything down to get to the answer. We have this approach to everything we do here, with the goal always being to achieve justice for our clients.
Q. What is something either here or within the community you would like to get involved in?
A. I will be participating in the next Leadership Stark County program. (As a volunteer, I have always been a worker.) I am the one that will get the job done not just be the one telling others what to do. However, I do feel that I do have leadership abilities that could be useful so I am looking to get involved. I would love to get involved in a leadership role within the not-for-profit community.
Q. What are some of the causes you are passionate about or advocate for?
A. One of my biggest passions is prison reform, and I am also very passionate about food insecurity, the environment, and advocating for people experiencing homelessness. Animals are also a huge passion of mine. I continue to volunteer for Legal Aid, and as a community educator for the Alzheimer’s Association. I recently became a Big Sister through Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. These are just a few of the many areas I would like to get involved in to help others.
Let Our Great Legal Asset Help with Your Case
Dr. Allie is an exceptional person and doctor and has been a tremendous asset for our legal team. If you find yourself in need of legal counsel, whether due to medical negligence, personal injury, a car or motorcycle crash, or other incident, reach out to our experienced and passionate legal team for help - when only the best will do.
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