What is a Life Care Plan?

Do I Need a Life Care Plan After an Accident?

Yes, you need a life care plan after an accident if you have serious or permanent injuries. If your injuries are anything but minor, a life care plan is important to handle your injury accident claim appropriately.

In cases with minor injuries, where you expect to recover in a few weeks or months, you may not need a life care plan to evaluate your damages. However, when your injuries cause any kind of significant or long-term interruption in your daily living, you need a life care plan to ensure that your needs are fully and fairly addressed after a personal injury accident.

What Is a Life Care Plan?

A life care plan is a detailed report of a person’s financial needs and expenses following a personal injury accident. The report takes the person’s entire circumstances into account, including medical costs, nursing care, and the costs of daily living. The report is a detailed accounting of a person’s needs, given their injuries and life expectancy. A life care plan is a way to plan for an accident victim’s future expenses.

Tenents of Life Care Planning

There are several important tenants to keep in mind when you’re life care planning after a personal injury accident. Here are some reasons to use life care planning in your accident case:

Know the Approximate Value of Your Case

When you create a life plan, you create a detailed projection of your long-term expenses. That projection is a thorough valuation of your case. You can understand what your injury claim is worth and why.

Use Your Plan as an Argument for Settlement

A life care plan can be helpful as you negotiate a settlement in your injury case. You can use your plan to defend your demands for a fair resolution to the case. The other side may see your work and appreciate that you have sound arguments for what your case is worth. A life care plan can put you in a stronger negotiating position than you may be without it.

Admit Your Plan as Evidence in Court

If your case goes to trial, you may admit your care plan into evidence. The expert who prepares your care plan may testify in detail about their conclusions and the basis for their reasoning. Having a life care plan to admit at trial can be an important part of successfully presenting your case to the jury.

Plan for Your Future

You can use your life care plan to create a path for your future after an accident. Any personal injury accident can be a stressful event that comes with many challenges. With a life care plan, you can appreciate what your needs are going to be in the future. You can plan for the future based on a complete understanding of what lies ahead.

Legal Definition of a Life Care Plan

The court in Otero County Hospital Association, Inc., Quorum Health Resources,^[1] LLC, (United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Mexico, 2017) defined a life care plan. They emphasized that a life care plan is based on research and skilled analysis. It’s an actual calculation of the true circumstances based on the victim’s projected needs and life expectancy.

The person who creates a life plan reviews medical records and speaks to the accident victim. The report includes any kind of need that the person has. It attempts to truthfully account for medical needs and living needs of the victim for the rest of their life. The Otero court emphasized that the life care plan should be based on a thorough review of detailed evidence to arrive at an accurate amount.

Life Care Plan Settlement

A life care plan settlement is a resolution to a personal injury case that’s based on the current and future needs of the victim. When you prepare a thorough life care plan, you know the approximate value of your case. That projection can be a launching point for settlement negotiations.

You can use the life care plan to make a strong argument for why a particular resolution is appropriate in the case. A life care plan settlement is a final agreement that you reach in your case based on your actual, projected needs after an accident.

Life Care Plan Model

A life care plan model is a detailed calculation of all of the types of expenses that a person has after a personal injury accident. Considerations that may be taken into account in a life care plan model include:

• Medical bills
• Long-term nursing care
• Home modifications so the victim can live comfortably
• Medical supplies
• Lost income
• Expenses for daily living including housing, utilities, clothing, and personal care expenses
• Projected life expectancy for the victim
• Reduction of the total cost to present-day value

Creating a life care plan means evaluating all of the aspects of future needs for a personal injury victim. Medical bills and long-term care needs should be fully accounted for. However, lost income and expenses for daily living may have some overlap. A victim should work with an experienced, credentialed professional to create their care plan. That person may have to answer questions about their accounting methods and evaluation process.

Attorneys for Life Care Plans and Personal Injury

Do you have questions about creating a life care plan after a personal injury accident? Are you wondering where to begin in making a life care plan? Our attorneys can help.

At Adam S. Kutner, Injury Attorneys, we offer full-service legal representation for accident victims. If a life care plan is helpful in your case, we’re sure to work diligently and carefully to create the appropriate plan for you. Our team evaluates your case from every angle to help you reach the best possible result. Call us today for a free consultation about your claim.