Importance Of Vocational Evaluation for Medical Malpractice Cases

If a medical professional made a mistake that led to your injury, you have the right to file a malpractice suit against the liable party to recover the damages. 

In a malpractice case, you’re responsible for proving that a physician or a medical institution committed malpractice. This means collecting all the evidence supporting your claim that a medical professional acted negligently, which resulted in harm. 

Before proceeding further, you should learn a bit or two about medical malpractice and the evidence you’ll require. While your mind may automatically go to physical proof and documents, a large part of a successful claim is expert witness testimony. 

To prove your malpractice case is valid, you will need medical experts. However, you may also need to make use of vocational evaluation for malpractice cases. 

So, let’s dive deeper into the evidence in malpractice cases and explain the importance of vocational evaluation for medical malpractice cases.

What Is Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice happens when a healthcare professional fails to deliver the accepted standard of care when treating a patient, thus causing them injury. Although malpractice falls into the category of personal injury, it’s a lot more complex. 

The litigation process is convoluted and often requires legal expertise and a deep familiarity with the medical field.

Types Of Evidence Required In A Malpractice Case

Generally speaking, the evidence presents information or objects admitted into court during litigation. Put differently, evidence can be any information that confirms or disproves a fact or makes it more or less probable. 

In medical malpractice, evidence is mostly used to prove the existence of the main elements of a malpractice claim. These elements include:

1. Duty of care
2. Breach of duty
3. Causation
4. Damages

The first element is simple. If a physician is providing you care, the doctor-patient relationship is established. This means they have a duty of care and must provide a certain level of care in line with what other professionals would under similar circumstances. 

Proving a doctor breached this duty of care requires demonstrating a deviation from standardized medical practices. For instance, you must show the physician failed to take actions that other competent doctors would have taken. 

Next, you must prove causation. This requires proof (physical or otherwise) that supports your accusations that a doctor’s action resulted in injury. You can only recover compensation if you suffered actual harm. 

The last element shows why you may need vocational evaluation for medical malpractice cases. 

Vocational evaluation, along with life care planning, can help demonstrate the losses (economic and non-economic) you suffered because of the injury. In other words, vocational experts can serve as consultants and help paint the complete picture of the malpractice event. 

What Do Vocational Experts Do?

Vocational experts are individuals who provide informed opinions on the workability and earning potential of persons who suffered significant injuries. Vocational evaluation for malpractice cases is important as it helps ascertain the plaintiff’s post-malpractice working capacity. These specialists also often calculate the lost earnings, making their services essential in litigation. 

Vocational experts will carefully analyze the educational background, work experience, and residual functional capacity of the plaintiff. In addition, they’ll take into account the current opportunities and constraints in the current labor market. 

Moreover, they collaborate with the legal team and most commonly provide deposition testimony. If needed, they may also testify in court. 

What Do Life Care Planners Do?

Life care planners create comprehensive plans that detail the lifelong needs of individuals who suffer serious injuries. When creating life care plans, they’ll take into account all the medical necessities, therapeutic services, rehabilitation needs, and supportive care requirements. 

In the context of medical malpractice, a life care plan can be used to substantiate and prove the damages you suffered and how the injury will affect you for the rest of your life. 

Furthermore, life care planners estimate the cost of future medical care while also considering advancements in medical technology, the patient’s health projections, as well as inflation. A life care plan is the only way to gain an accurate breakdown of the full medical costs required. 

In addition, life care planners will evaluate the plaintiff’s quality of life, which can be used to gain a better understanding of non-economic damages. 

Life care planners work closely with attorneys, provide reports (which can be entered into evidence), and testify in court if needed. 

Do You Need Both Life Care Planning And Vocational Evaluation?

On its own, vocational evaluation for medical malpractice is powerful. Yet, without life care planning, you’ll be getting just half of the picture. The combination of both provides a holistic view of the plaintiff’s circumstances and by extension, the full overview of all the damages in the case. 

While the vocational expert handles the analysis of your earnings and employment potential, a life care planner will evaluate your long-term care needs. By using both services, your case will include a comprehensive representation of the full financial implications regarding the medical malpractice event at the core of the case. 

Does Your Case Need A Bit Of A Boost?

Vocational evaluation and life care planning are essential components of a successful malpractice case. The two offer insight into your future in terms of medical needs and your employability moving forward. Hence, you will get an accurate calculation of the full range of damages you suffered due to a medical professional’s negligent actions. 

The healthcare industry and the employment market are continuously evolving, which means what applied yesterday may not be relevant tomorrow. This is why even the top attorneys in the field of malpractice need to hire both said professionals early in the discovery process. 

As luck would have it, your attorney doesn’t need to retain two separate companies because OAS offers both services. We’ve been at the helm of vocational evaluation and life care planning industries for close to 30 years and during that time, we have assisted attorneys and plaintiffs in thousands of cases around the country - helping them secure a better outcome. 

Schedule a consultation by calling 800-292-1919 or filling out our contact form. 

Note: 

The information in this blog post is for reference only and not legal advice. As such, you should not make legal decisions based on the information in this blog post. Moreover, there is no lawyer-client relationship resulting from this blog post, nor should any such relationship be implied. If you need legal counsel, please consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.