A Life Care Plan Eases Financial Woes

Suffering from an injury that will last the rest of your life is devastating. When this occurs, the only thing that could make the situation worse would be if the lifetime medical care caused serious financial hardship to the injured victim or to his family members or loved ones. The tort law system is designed to make sure this does not happen by holding the defendant responsible for paying for all medical costs, both present and future, that have become necessary as a result of the injury that occurred. Determining these ongoing costs can be a major challenge, though, and a life care plan typically must be constructed in order to arrive at a reasonable dollar figure.

The Importance of a Life Care Plan

There are many injuries that occur as a result of car collisions, falls, and other accidents that will require a life care plan to be made. Some of the most obvious types of injuries that would necessitate such a plan include spinal cord injuries or those that cause brain damage. In these cases, the injured victim will need adaptive devices and sometimes round-the-clock nursing or medical care for the rest of his or her life.

However, there are also other injuries that may be less severe but that still require ongoing or lifetime care. It is these cases that can often be the most difficult to estimate since it may not be exactly clear how serious the injuries are, how long they will really last, or to what extent treatment will be necessary to manage these persistent injuries. The need for lifetime care may also be more difficult to prove when it is not patently obvious, such as in the case of a comatose or paralyzed patient.

In any of these situations, no matter how serious the lifelong injury, a life care plan is essential. The life care plan should be created by a medical expert who has extensive experience and who is respected as an expert by the defendant's insurance company and/or by the jury who has to make a decision on damages.

A medical expert who prepares a life care plan will consider standards of accepted medical care when creating the plan, as well as industry standards for cost of such care. This research and experience in the field will allow the expert to make an informed decision on what kinds of ongoing care will be required and what the expense will be.

The life care plan must be drafted and presented in such a way that not only addresses the medical issues but also that is understandable to a lay jury who is hearing the case, should it go to trial. A life care planner who has not only medical experience but who also has a grasp of the specific requirements of personal injury litigation is thus essential.

When a life care plan is created, it is important to remember that the plan is part of the evidence that a plaintiff will present in order to meet his required burden of proving harm and proving damages. Since it is such an important document and carries great legal weight in many cases, it is absolutely vital that an expert in life care planning be consulted in order to create the plan.

What Do You Do If You Think A Doctor Has Harmed You?

If you suspect that you doctor has caused you harm in some way, you have options to get compensation for any injuries or damages caused by it. This can be connected to treatment, medications that were prescribed to you and a number of related instances. Your best option is to contact a medical malpractice lawyer.

Doctors can, at times, cause harm to their patients when treatment is not administered correctly. You may have been referred for treatment that you did not need, or were given treatment that harmed you. For example, your doctor might have given you a referral for a specific type of physical therapy after your surgery. As the therapy was given, you found that your injury was only made worse, causing you further pain and suffering.

Medication is another area that medical malpractice often occurs. A doctor may give the wrong prescription for an illness or give you one that reacts negatively with another that you are already taking. When this happens, there can be adverse side effects, increased symptoms and serious illness that can occur. This can be especially harmful when the person has an allergy to the medication that was given.

A medical malpractice lawyer can help you to get compensation for these mistakes. Your attorney is familiar with legal regulations regarding medical care and how to gather the necessary evidence for your case. Medical malpractice can cause you to miss work, become disabled or even cause death in certain circumstances. Hiring an experienced attorney is necessary to make sure that your case is handled properly.

Your attorney will need to have copies of your medical records and any documentation that you have of your treatment. He or she may also bring in an outside medical expert to testify on your behalf regarding what type of treatment should have been administered in the first place. Your lawyer has the resources necessary to investigate and gather the necessary data to backup your side of the incident.

Taking a doctor to court in these circumstances also helps to protect others who may have been treated in a similar manner. Revealing these problems can help to prevent others from suffering the same thing. Medical malpractice lawyers are the best ones to deal with insurance companies regarding treatment and compensation. You will be doing a smart thing by hiring an attorney with experience in this area to handle your case, giving you a greater chance of winning in court.