Foundations, costing, and documentation for a future-care projection that withstands admissibility review.
Life Care · 11 min read
Abstract
A life care plan is an itemized projection of the future medical, rehabilitative, and support needs of an individual with a catastrophic injury or chronic condition, together with the cost and frequency of each item. It is the evidentiary foundation for the economist's present-value calculation of future care damages. This paper describes how a plan is built on the medical record, costed from defensible sources, and documented so that each recommendation can be traced and tested.
Key takeaways
Each item in a life care plan should trace to a medical foundation in the record, not to unsupported assumption.
Frequency, duration, and unit cost are stated for every item so the projection can be reproduced.
Costs are drawn from defensible, geographically appropriate sources and documented.
A plan that distinguishes injury-related needs from pre-existing or unrelated needs is more defensible.