subject: A Life Care Plan Eases Financial Woes [print this page] Suffering from an injury that will last the rest of your life is devastating. When this occurs, the only thing that could make the situation worse would be if the lifetime medical care caused serious financial hardship to the injured victim or to his family members or loved ones. The tort law system is designed to make sure this does not happen by holding the defendant responsible for paying for all medical costs, both present and future, that have become necessary as a result of the injury that occurred. Determining these ongoing costs can be a major challenge, though, and a life care plan typically must be constructed in order to arrive at a reasonable dollar figure.
The Importance of a Life Care Plan
There are many injuries that occur as a result of car collisions, falls, and other accidents that will require a life care plan to be made. Some of the most obvious types of injuries that would necessitate such a plan include spinal cord injuries or those that cause brain damage. In these cases, the injured victim will need adaptive devices and sometimes round-the-clock nursing or medical care for the rest of his or her life.
However, there are also other injuries that may be less severe but that still require ongoing or lifetime care. It is these cases that can often be the most difficult to estimate since it may not be exactly clear how serious the injuries are, how long they will really last, or to what extent treatment will be necessary to manage these persistent injuries. The need for lifetime care may also be more difficult to prove when it is not patently obvious, such as in the case of a comatose or paralyzed patient.
In any of these situations, no matter how serious the lifelong injury, a life care plan is essential. The life care plan should be created by a medical expert who has extensive experience and who is respected as an expert by the defendant's insurance company and/or by the jury who has to make a decision on damages.
A medical expert who prepares a life care plan will consider standards of accepted medical care when creating the plan, as well as industry standards for cost of such care. This research and experience in the field will allow the expert to make an informed decision on what kinds of ongoing care will be required and what the expense will be.
The life care plan must be drafted and presented in such a way that not only addresses the medical issues but also that is understandable to a lay jury who is hearing the case, should it go to trial. A life care planner who has not only medical experience but who also has a grasp of the specific requirements of personal injury litigation is thus essential.
When a life care plan is created, it is important to remember that the plan is part of the evidence that a plaintiff will present in order to meet his required burden of proving harm and proving damages. Since it is such an important document and carries great legal weight in many cases, it is absolutely vital that an expert in life care planning be consulted in order to create the plan.
by: Nancy E Fraser
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