Frequently Asked Questions

A life care plan is an individualized, evidence-based document that projects the future medical and non-medical care needs of a person with a catastrophic injury or chronic condition. It itemizes each need with its frequency, duration, and cost across the person's remaining life expectancy and is typically used to establish future damages in litigation or to fund a settlement. KW Life Care Planning's certified life care planners prepare plans that follow the published standards of practice.

Life care plans are prepared by credentialed planners with a clinical background. The two principal credentials are the Certified Life Care Planner (CLCP) and the Certified Nurse Life Care Planner (CNLCP), held by nurses, rehabilitation counselors, therapists, and physicians. Every plan rests on a medical foundation: the treating or evaluating physicians recommend the care, and the planner organizes, projects, and prices it. See CLCP vs. CNLCP for how the credentials differ.

Plans and cost projections are prepared for personal injury, medical malpractice, birth injury, workers' compensation, and other matters involving traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, amputation, burns, and cerebral palsy. Engagements are accepted from both plaintiff and defense counsel and from carriers, and opinions are based solely on the record.

A life care plan covers the full scope of injury-related needs, medical and non-medical, across the lifespan, and typically includes an interview and evaluation of the person. A medical cost projection is a narrower, records-based estimate of a defined set of future medical costs, often for a shorter horizon or a single treatment pathway. The comparison page explains when each is appropriate.

A Medicare set-aside allocation estimates the portion of a settlement to reserve for future injury-related care that Medicare would otherwise pay. It is narrower than a life care plan: it includes only Medicare-covered items and prices them on a fee-schedule basis under Medicare's review guidance. Many catastrophic workers' compensation settlements need both, and the same record review can support each. See life care plan vs. Medicare set-aside.

Each item is priced for the geographic market where the person lives, using provider and vendor quotes, recognized usual-and-customary charge data, published fee schedules, and manufacturer pricing as appropriate. The source and date of every cost are recorded so the figure can be traced and re-priced at a later update. The cost research methodology page describes the process, and how a life care plan is priced explains what drives the fee for the engagement itself.

The plan horizon starts from the current published United States life tables for the person's age and sex. The planner departs from the population figure only when a qualified physician has opined that the condition changes it, and documents that basis. Where the parties dispute expectancy, the plan can be presented at each proposed horizon. See life expectancy in life care planning.

Yes, when prepared by a qualified planner following accepted methodology and grounded in physician recommendations and documented cost research. KW Life Care Planning's planners have provided deposition and trial testimony in state and federal courts, and reports are prepared to meet the admissibility frameworks applied in each. Attorneys confirm the governing framework for the specific case.

Yes. A life care plan rebuttal tests each item in the opposing plan for medical foundation, duplication, supported frequency and duration, documented and geographically appropriate pricing, and the life expectancy basis. The review may be records-only or may include an evaluation of the person, depending on access and the needs of the case. How to rebut a life care plan outlines the approach.

Yes. Plans are prepared for matters in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. Cost research is performed in the person's own market, and the planners are familiar with jurisdiction-specific expert disclosure rules and admissibility frameworks.

Turnaround depends on the complexity of the injury, the completeness of the medical records, whether an in-person evaluation is required, and how quickly treating providers respond to requests for recommendations. Most plans are delivered within several weeks of receiving complete records and completing the evaluation; a records-based medical cost projection is typically faster. Shorter timelines may be available - contact us to discuss your deadline.

Often, yes. A life care plan is a dynamic document. When the person's condition, treatment plan, or living situation has changed, or when significant time has passed since the costs were researched, a plan update refreshes the medical foundation and re-prices each item so the plan reflects current care and current costs.

Contact our office by phone at (201) 343-0700 or via the contact form on this website. A member of our intake team will follow up within one business day to discuss the case, the records needed, and planner availability. We accept cases from plaintiff counsel, defense counsel, and insurance carriers.