A life care plan is a projection of the medical care and other costs someone who has experienced a catastrophic or permanent injury will need during his or her lifetime.
A life care plan is often used in a California personal injury case when someone is seriously injured as the result of another party’s negligence or other wrongful act.
Damages that can be established with a life care plan include (but are not limited to):
- Medical bills,
- Therapy and rehabilitation,
- Medical equipment,
- Loss of earning capacity,
- Pain and suffering,
- Other economic damages, and
- Costs of modifying the plaintiff’s home or vehicle.
To help you better understand life care plans, our California personal injury lawyers will answer the following key questions:
- 1. What is a life care plan?
- 2. What expenses will the plan address?
- 3. How is a life care plan used in injury cases?
- 4. How is life expectancy calculated?
- 5. What kinds of injury cases can benefit?
1. What is a life care plan?
A California life care plan is a comprehensive document listing a plaintiff’s current and anticipated medical needs and costs. The plans are often introduced as evidence by people who have suffered a catastrophic injury or illness, often due to someone else’s strict liability or negligence. A certified life care planner (CLCP) can help create a plan.
2. What expenses will the plan address?
The needs addressed in a life care plan will vary from plaintiff to plaintiff, depending on the injuries sustained. Expenses often covered in a life care plan include (without limitation):
- Projected routine medical care.
- Projected surgeries (including amputations and reconstruction).
- Projected psychological care needs.
- Vocational or occupational therapy for present and future care.
- Long-term care or short-term care, including for nursing homes.
- Home health care, including visits from registered nurses and other caregivers.
- Medication, including for palliative care and chronic pain management.
- Diagnostic testing and assessments and case management.
- Equipment and supplies (such as wheelchairs, diapers, etc.).
- Home modifications (such as ramps, handrails and wider doors).
- Home furnishings (such as automated beds or bath lifters).
- Alarms and monitors.
- Orthotics or prosthetics.
- Transportation needs.
- Other special aid, equipment or accommodations.
Life care plans are necessary whether or not the injured party
- is insured,
- has Medicare, or
- has workers’ compensation benefits.
3. How is a life care plan used in injury cases?
Arriving at a settlement or damage award is one of the most challenging parts of a California personal injury case. It is critical to ask for and justify an amount that will give the plaintiff the best possible quality of life for the remainder of his or her life.
California’s best life care planning documents contain a comprehensive analysis of the patient’s current and likely future needs. To create a compelling plan, a top California personal injury lawyer will get input from:
- The plaintiff s physicians and medical records,
- The plaintiff ‘s therapists,
- The plaintiff (if possible),
- Friends, family members, and co-workers,
- Medical equipment and supply vendors,
- Home contractors, and
- Expert witnesses, such as vocational experts.
4. How is life expectancy calculated?
Life expectancy is an issue for a jury to decide.1 It is usually based on the plaintiff’s life expectancy as it existed just before the incident or accident.2 That way the plaintiff is not punished for any diminished life expectancy resulting from the defendant’s wrongful act.
In determining this period, the jury may consider published mortality tables.3 These tables usually take into account the plaintiff’s gender and race, as well as age.
However, published mortality tables are not conclusive. The jury may also consider the plaintiff’s health, habits, activities, lifestyle, and occupation, among other factors.4
5. What kinds of injury cases can benefit?
Types of injuries that often benefit from a life care plan include (without limitation):
- Anesthesia injuries,
- Burn injuries,
- Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE),
- Drowning accidents,
- Loss of limbs,
- Nerve injuries,
- Spinal cord injuries,
- Traumatic brain injury (“TBI”), and
- Wrongful birth.
But anyone with a catastrophic injury can benefit from a life care plan – both for coping with the injury and for obtaining the best settlement or award possible.
Legal references:
- California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI) 3932. Life Expectancy.
- Fein v. Permanente Medical Group (1985) 38 Cal.3d 137.
- Life expectancy tables are often based on Vital Statistics of the United States, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. See, e.g., the tables referenced in CACI 3932, note 1.
- Allen v. Toledo (1980) 109 Cal.App.3d 415.