ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the defense perspective on life care planning. The basic purpose of a life care plan in personal injury cases is to assist in proof of the future cost of plaintiff's care and treatment. The first step in attacking the plaintiff's life care plan is to determine whether the plaintiff's life care planner is, in fact, qualified to present the plan. The speculative nature of a life care plan can also preclude its admissibility if the plan involves new or experimental treatments or novel theories of causation. Each element of the plan is subject to preclusion if it does not meet the Daubert standard for admissibility. After the plaintiff's life care planner has overcome any qualification issues, the planner must avoid additional potential pitfalls. Financial bias is a common ground for defense efforts to discredit the plaintiff's experts, including the life care planner.
