An Innovation for Law Firms – Life Care Planning

You may think that the notion of life care planning and the services provided by lawyers are very different. Indeed, you may assume that life care planning has everything to do with medical care and other needs for a person’s health, while law firms focus on handling lawsuits. There is, however, a large overlap between the benefits of life care planning and the needs of attorneys helping their clients.

In this article, we are going to talk about the ways in which life care planning services for law firms is crucial for many legal cases. In particular, life care planning can assist lawyers who are representing someone who suffered a catastrophic injury, as well as representing someone of advanced age. 

If, after reading this article, you have additional questions about using a life care planning expert, we invite you to contact us at Occupational Assessment Services, Inc. – OAS. We have served as life care planners , and vocational experts many different types of cases. 

We are one of the most experienced employability and life care planning firms in the United States. To discuss your case, call us at   1-800-292-1919 , contact us at a location near you, or through our online form.

Life Care Planning for Serious Injuries

It is a relatively new phenomenon, but law firms are increasingly using life care planning to assist either the plaintiff or defendant when it comes to proving or disproving damages in a lawsuit involving a victim of catastrophic injuries.

Here is how the law and life care plans overlap. After someone is injured, a life care planner will conduct a comprehensive, systemic evaluation of the individual to determine what that individual needs with regard to home care, medical treatment, and rehabilitation. A life care plan is most helpful when the injured person has injuries that are so severe that the injuries will impact the ability for that person to handle daily living activities. 

In fact, a life care planner uses a seven step process to create an appropriate plan for an injured person:

1. Medical and other document review,
2. A home visit,
3. A review of issues with the person’s ability to work,
4. An in-person interview with the injured person,
5. An evaluation on the injury’s impact on daily routine activities,
6. A detailed write up of the injured person’s needs, and
7. Research on the cost of certain medical and other needed devices in the person’s geographical area.

All of those steps lead to a life care planner’s ability to make conclusions on the injured person’s needs, and their ability to perform certain types of work. 

A lawyer, then, representing the injured person who filed a lawsuit in relation to their injuries, will bring in the life care planner as a witness at the trial. The life care planner can serve as an expert informing the court and the jury of what monetary compensation the injured person will need in order to manage daily living given his or her injuries.

By the same token, a defense attorney can utilize a life care planner to negate or counter the expert testimony provided by the plaintiff with regard to damages. 

In sum, a life care planner adds a great deal to the veracity of either litigants’ case.

Life Care Planning for the Elderly

Many elder law firms have begun to see the efficacy of using a life care planner as part of their practice. While both traditional law firms and life care planning law firms can help families make arrangements for a client’s long-term care, those elder law firms that provide life care planning can offer even more services.

First, law care planning law firms can remove some of the burden on caregivers while still coordinating services so that elder clients can remain at home longer, and thereby postpone the need to go to a nursing home.

Second, life care planning services law firms can handle the many legal, financial, medical, and housing issues that may crop up because of a client’s chronic medical issues or natural decline in abilities. 

Finally, when a client is in a nursing home facility, a life care planning services law firm can assign a care coordinator to serve as the client’s and family’s advocate with the facility. Such attention can avoid any issues with gaps in care or poor quality care for an elderly loved one. 

In short, life care planning services for law firms takes on many forms, and can lead to better success with personal injury litigation as well as coordination of an elder client’s care. 

A Life Care Planner Should be a Part of Your Firm’s Next Case

The experts at Occupational Assessment Services, Inc. (OAS) have over forty years of experience documenting the income potential and employment capacity of those with wrongful termination cases, as well as with the underemployed, unemployed, and disabled spouses in many types of cases.

OAS specializes in working with the plaintiff or defense attorney to assist in objectively documenting the economics in a case. From the initial referral to the trial testimony, OAS works with the retaining attorney so that the vocational assessment of the case can be objectively and efficiently presented. 

OAS has served as experts on many multi-million dollar outcomes including a record-setting $102 million verdict in a NY catastrophic injury case. Through objective consulting, analysis, and vocational testing , we specialize in assisting attorneys in documenting damages.

We strongly believe in the importance of a clear and understandable presentation of the facts. OAS is the leading provider of Vocational Expert and Life Care Planning Services for Plaintiff and Defense attorneys. 

The company specializes in assisting attorneys in evaluating earning capacity in divorce cases , and documenting the damages in cases where an individual has been severely injured by providing objective findings on how the injuries affect a persons’ ability to work and earn money, as well as the cost of care required in catastrophic injuries.

OAS is your Vocational Expert & Life Care Planner Nationwide, with offices in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Nevada, and California. 

Occupational Assessment Services, Inc. is one of the most experienced employability and life care planning firms in the United States. To discuss your case, call us at   1-800-292-1919 , contact us at a location near you, or through our online form.