Assistive Technology Evaluation

In lawsuits involving personal injuries, a vocational expert can establish employability and earning potential. The expert can also evidence how employability and earning potential will be affected by the injured individual’s ongoing medical costs, care, and rehabilitation. In some cases, assistive technology might be required to restore some degree of function and earning capacity to a functionally impaired individual.
“Assistive technology” is a term used generally to describe assistive, rehabilitative, and adaptive devices created for injured or disabled individuals. It also includes the process used in selecting, locating, and using such devices. Assistive technology help injured and disabled individuals achieve greater independence by allowing them to perform tasks that they were formerly unable to accomplish, or had difficulty accomplishing.
Assistive technology encompasses a wide range of devices and training designed to mitigate individual’s limitations. With the help of assistive technology, individuals with functional impairments can work and earn income to their maximum potential. Common examples of assistive devices include prosthetic aids, wheelchairs, customized computers and telephones, and other workplace accommodations.
To help establish damages in a person injury case, a vocational expert formulates a life care plan. One of the considerations in a life care plan is whether the individual needs assistive technology and what kinds of assistive technology are appropriate. A vocational expert’s specialized skills allow him to evaluate assistive technology and apply it to an injured individual’s case. Incorporating this evaluation and the available technology in life care planning can impact the income potential of the injured party and their potential damages award.
Edmond Provder, a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, has over forty years of experience providing vocational evaluations and creating life care plans. Mr. Provder is the owner of Occupational Assessment Services, Inc. (OAS), one of the top companies providing vocational expert and life care planning services in the United States. Contact OAS  at 800-292-1919 to discuss establishing damages in your case.