ABSTRACT
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 733 The Life Care Planner as an Expert Witness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 734 The Defense Life Care Planner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 737 Evaluating the Plaintiff’s Life Care Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 738 The Role of the Economist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 743 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 744 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 745
Most defense attorneys handling pediatric cases encounter life care planners in the context of trauma or medical malpractice cases where a life care planner projects the plaintiff’s future needs for medical care and other support. These needs can range from moderate to catastrophic. The life care planner assimilates information from many different sources, and this information becomes the basis for future economic projections. The economic projections usually involve a variety of assumptions, some based on statistics and others based on estimated future costs for medical and rehabilitative needs, care requirements, and durable and disposable equipment or supplies. An economist then calculates the present value of the projected costs, which determines the amount of compensation the plaintiff seeks from the defendant. Developing an effective defense in these cases involves analyzing the work of many different disciplines and coordinating with expert witnesses. This chapter is intended as a guide to evaluating plaintiff life care plans from a defense perspective. It includes not only a discussion of the qualifications of the life care planner as a witness, but also the underlying basis for the medical,
rehabilitative, economic, and legal issues and assumptions involved in defending testimony by the life care planner.
