What Is Life Care Planning And How Can It Help Your Loved One?

Life care planners are oft-ignored when it comes to injured and disabled people and their quality of life. However, these certified professionals, knowledgeable in numerous health related-fields, help many families and patients receive peace of mind and deal with the challenges of their situation.

By looking at medical records and exploring all the sources, life care planners conduct independent research to put together a comprehensive long-term care plan.

For everyone living in NYC dealing with a catastrophic injury, here’s how OAS life care planning New York can help.

What Is a Life Care Plan?

In simple terms, it’s a tool that helps lawyers and their injured clients in litigation. 

When a person suffers a debilitating injury, a life care plan is very useful as it offers a comprehensive analysis of the current and future costs of medical care. It is used to provide the necessary evidence that aids in the swift and fair resolution of a case. 

More importantly, by leveraging life care planning New York, it’s possible to determine the exact amount of projected costs of future care or other expenses that the injured person will have in the future.

The purpose of the life care plan is to:

1. Make sure the injured person receives the necessary medical care

2. Discover additional sources (private or public) of funding the medical expenses along with the Social Security or workers’ comp benefits

3. Ensure peace of mind for both the injured person and their family by making the appropriate choices that cover medical care without depleting their financial resources.

Who Are Life Care Planners?

Most certified life care planners have a medical background and were working in different medical areas before choosing to join this particular field. For instance, a lot of these professionals are former nurse practitioners. 

However, that’s not a rule of thumb because life care professionals come from different backdrops, such as:

1. Rehab counseling

2. Physical therapy

3. Psychology

4. Occupational therapy

5. Chiropractic

6. Speech pathology

7. Special education

8. Social work

While every certified life care planner can get the job, in some cases, the expertise of the planner does matter. For example, if a patient suffered a spine injury, it’s beneficial to hire a professional with a background in orthopedics. 

Why Life Care Planning New York?

Whether you or your family member has suffered a crippling injury, workers’ compensation benefits or Social Security benefits may lessen the financial burden of dealing with the injury. Additionally, these benefits also cover long-term illnesses caused by exposure to dangerous chemicals.

Experienced attorneys may help these individuals file claims and assist them in court to get the benefits to which they’re entitled. However, life care planners often get hired by lawyers to strengthen the case.

Since this is overwhelming for the families, they usually don’t consider the long-term implications of the injury and the medical costs. But with life care planning New York experts, they have someone on their side that addresses the long-term financial and healthcare needs of the injured family member.

In some cases, this might be a few months or years. People who suffered catastrophic injuries like traumatic brain injuries might require a plan that covers decades of care.

So when should you leverage life care planning New York to strengthen your claim? Go for it if the:

1. Primary caregiver also has health problems or is suffering severe mental stress due to the situation.

2. Injured individual and their family are unsure about their healthcare options and have trouble deciding what should be done.

3. Injury in question is serious.

4. Individual is disabled and has no family members who can provide healthcare assistance.

5. Injured worker has suffered from a traumatic brain injury and  is exhibiting cognitive changes.

6. Family doesn’t have the necessary funds to cover the current and future medical costs.

The Process of Creating a Life Care Plan

Due to their extensive experience in the medical field, life care planners are familiar with the healthcare needs of different kinds of patients. Our life care planning New York experts will base the plan on different factors, such as:

1. The nature of the injury: if it requires long-term care or not-

2. The severity of the injury: the long-term goal of life care planning is to help the injured worker reach full recovery or as much independence as possible. This depends on the severity of the injury and how much therapy is required.

3. Financial requirements: life care planners usually interview the medical professionals and providers in the area, then put together a comprehensive plan of the financial needs of the injured individual to cover the costs throughout their injury.

4. The abilities of the injured person/family: depending on personal factors, the life care needs of the person might be different. For instance, a single young man who will be looked after by his older parents has different needs than an injured man in his mid-forties with a spouse and three adult children.

While sometimes it’s possible to craft a plan from two templates, our life care planning New York experts understand no two plans can be the same. Thus, a life care plan should address the specific needs of each family and each individual.

For severe injuries, life care planning includes finding the resources and developing a plan for:

1. Medication

2. Medical devices

3. Evaluation of therapy

4. Educational assessments

5. Diagnostics and lab testing

6. Expected costs of future supplies and medical items

7. Home modifications to accommodate the injury

8. Modification to vehicles 

9. Transportation needs

In most cases when pursuing injury or disability benefits, a life care planner can help strengthen a claim by presenting all the information in court. For example, if the injured person seeks compensation to cover future medical expenses, a life care plan can paint a clear picture of the full extent of the injury and the medical care it entails. 

Without a proper life care plan, you run the risk of getting underpaid as the court may not have a clear idea of the care required. By showing the judge concrete medical evidence of the disability and its effects on the quality of life of the claimant and their family, it can improve the chances of the benefits getting granted. More importantly, it ensures that the benefits are enough to cover future medical expenses. 

Choose OAS

While some law firms have a life planner on staff, this is not always the case. You do have a say in this, and you can work with a life care planner that you prefer. If you have any doubts and you need life care planning New York, OAS is the right choice.

We have been doing this since the early 70s and have helped many families receive their well-deserved benefits.

If time is of the essence, feel free to call us at 800-292-1919 or send us an email at info@oasinc.org. Don’t gamble with your future - work with the best life care planning professionals.