Life Care Planner Expert Witness in California

The Judicial Council of California's civil jury instructions state that a plaintiff seeking damages for future medical expenses must prove the reasonable cost of reasonably necessary medical care that the plaintiff is reasonably certain to need in the future. A life care plan gives evidence on each part, item by item: the record or treating recommendation behind the care, how often and how long it is needed, and its price where it will be delivered. The trier of fact decides whether each item meets the standard; attorneys confirm the governing rule for their case. The life care plan guide explains the method and what a plan contains.

When a party demands it. After a trial date is set, any party may demand a simultaneous exchange of information about the expert witnesses each party intends to call at trial, and the Code of Civil Procedure sets the last day for the demand and the date of the exchange by reference to the trial date and to service of the demand, unless the court orders an earlier or later exchange. For a retained expert the exchange includes a declaration on the expert's qualifications and the general substance of the anticipated testimony. The California expert disclosure page summarizes the practice; attorneys confirm the governing rule and its timing for their case.

As evidence the trier of fact weighs. California's civil jury instructions call published life expectancy information evidence of how long a person is likely to live, but not conclusive, and tell jurors to consider, among other factors, the person's health, habits, activities, lifestyle and occupation; their directions for use recommend the National Center for Health Statistics life tables. A plan's horizon usually starts from those tables at the person's current age, and a longer or shorter figure rests on the opinion of a physician in the relevant specialty. The life expectancy calculator looks up remaining life expectancy in the current United States life tables.

From the local market. Each item is priced where the person lives, from quotes and published fee data, and the plan names the area and the source of every price, so a Los Angeles line is checked against Los Angeles and a Fresno line against Fresno. Price, frequency and duration are separate figures, so either side can dispute one without rebuilding the rest. How reasonable cost is measured in a given case is a question for counsel and the court; the collateral source rule guide covers the California Supreme Court's Howell decision on amounts paid through private insurance.

As a line-by-line list of future treatment, each item carrying its frequency, its duration and the record entry behind it, so that each can be read against the Division of Workers' Compensation's Medical Treatment Utilization Schedule. The plan projects the care, and a request for treatment still goes through utilization review: if utilization review denies, delays or modifies a treating physician's request because the treatment is not medically necessary, the injured employee can ask for independent medical review, under which, the division says, medical treatment disputes are resolved by physicians rather than through the court system. Attorneys confirm the governing rule for their case.

By a forensic economist working from the plan's annual totals; the planner prices the care and stops there. California's civil jury instructions define present cash value as the amount of money that, if reasonably invested today, will provide the plaintiff with the amount of the future damages. Their directions for use say the defendant bears the burden of presenting expert evidence of an appropriate present value calculation, and the authority they quote puts the burden of proving an inflation adjustment, rate included, on the party who seeks it, typically the plaintiff. KWVRS provides forensic economic analysis with its affiliated firm, for plaintiff and defense counsel; forensic economics in California describes that work.

Certified life care planners on the KWVRS roster, with a physician supporting each recommendation that calls for medical judgment; the life care planning practice page lists them with their credentials, and the CLCP credential page explains what the certification requires. The retaining side changes the question asked, not the plan: the record review, the standards and the regional pricing are the same for plaintiff and defense counsel. When the other side has served a plan, counsel can retain a written review that follows the opposing plan checklist.

A new plan is typically 30 to 60 days from receipt of complete records. Where a Superior Court exchange date or a workers' compensation hearing sets an earlier deadline, the timetable is fixed at engagement, and a rush schedule is arranged case by case when counsel asks for one. Before any work begins, counsel receives a written fee schedule and an estimate for the requested scope, and the engagement agreement sets the fee and its payment terms; testimony is priced on the fee schedule apart from the plan. The life care plan cost page explains what drives the total.