What Is a Life Care Planning Expert Witness?

What Is a Life Care Planning Expert Witness?

Medical malpractice is an unfortunate reality. While patients generally trust their physicians and nurses to provide an adequate level of care, sometimes things don’t go as expected. Usually, this is no one’s fault. Life doesn’t always proceed as planned, and malpractice isn’t always to blame. However, in certain instances, it is. This is where expert witness services come into play. Knowing the law isn’t enough. The medical field is complex, and no one can be an expert in everything. Nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals are needed. In the end, it’s about serving the person and ensuring that the individual’s rights and interests are protected and served. In order to accomplish this, key expert witnesses are required. This is certainly true when it comes to life care planning.

Life Care Plan

According to the International Conference on Life Care Planning and the International Academy of Life Care Planners: “The life care plan is a dynamic document based upon published standards of practice, comprehensive assessment, data analysis, and research, which provides an organized, concise plan for current and future needs with associated costs for individuals who have experienced catastrophic injury or have chronic health care needs.” In many cases, these needs are due to traumatic brain injury. Stroke survivors and other people who are incapable of caring for themselves typically require a life care plan. This plan takes into account expenses, medical care, and must be as comprehensive as can reasonably be expected.

Life Care Planning

As you can see, life care planning demands expertise that most people don’t possess. Most life care planning is conducted by nurses. Nurses have the most experience with hands-on medical care. After all, patients are their business. While doctors write prescriptions and diagnose, nurses are the ones doing the direct work with the patient. A nurse who focuses their practice on life care planning should be a Certified Nurse Life Care Planner (CNLCP). This certification requires ongoing study and verifies that the nurse has the necessary education, skill, training, and experience.

These nurses carefully craft a life care plan, taking into account life expectancy, ongoing medical needs, equipment or other resources, and associated expenses. The plan also considers any limited mobility, changes in family roles, impact on work or other activities, and the fact that some equipment or materials will need to be replaced over time. This is an involved and complex process, which necessitates an extensive knowledge of evidence-based research and published guidelines, as well as demanding the nurse’s personal assessment.

Expert Witness

As you can see, when it comes to life care planning, the expert witness is most likely to be a certified and experienced nurse. When putting together your malpractice case, it’s best to have ongoing contact with a specific specialist. This is true for your initial consultation and all the way through to the conclusion at settlement or trial. Obviously, there’s a benefit to developing a rapport with your expert witness, and this simply takes time.

Medical malpractice cases are challenging. Having someone with the right background serving as an expert witness is hugely beneficial. It’s difficult for judges and jurors to understand and appreciate the complexities of the field, especially when they don’t share a related background themselves.

With medical expert witness services, you can avoid the need to track down such witnesses yourself. A medical professional who’s also an experienced expert witness could make all the difference. Contact Reliable Clinical Experts LTD at 1-206-895-3359 if you have any questions or need assistance.