How persuasive is a plaintiff’s life care plan? That’s the question defense lawyers typically ask when faced with the plaintiff’s demand for future medical costs in a traumatic injury claim…along with the case the plaintiff makes to back up its demand. The defense asks, Is the plaintiff’s life care plan well-reasoned and defensible? Does it hold up medically? Where might the plaintiff’s life care plan be vulnerable to rebuttal?
Remember that the job of the plaintiff’s lawyer is to make the best case possible for their client. While they might use a life care planner to formulate a pricing plan that is fair for all parties of the lawsuit, that is not always the case. That’s where a rebuttal life care plan comes in.
An organic process
In cases involving a life care plan, it’s important for a defense attorney to know that the life care plan is a living, changing document. A prudent defense, for example, will have the plaintiff’s life care plan reviewed by a life care planner who has the skills, resources and experience to evaluate the recommendations and costs of the plaintiff’s future care and, if indicated, propose a rebuttal.
On behalf of the defense, a life care planner can evaluate the plaintiff’s plan on several key issues, such as:
- Inconsistencies in recommendations
- Failure to follow the established methodology of the life care planning industry
- Mathematical calculation errors
- Items and services that are not realistic or are on the plaintiff’s “wish list”
- Recommendations that are not included in the standard medical care of a patient with the identified injuries and
- Embellishments meant to maximize the settlement
An experienced, qualified life care planner can also help the defense verify the pricing stated in the plaintiff report and even decrease those costs through the use of other databases and pricing resources.
PS: There’s more about evaluating medical costs in traumatic, personal injury cases on our blog — https://mkcmedicalmanagement.com/blog/.
