In any serious Nevada personal injury case, past medical bills are just the starting point. For victims of catastrophic injuries — severe traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, permanent nerve damage, major orthopaedic injuries requiring multiple surgeries, and others — the most significant economic damages are often the future medical costs: the lifetime of treatment, therapy, medication, equipment, attendant care, and home modification that the injury makes necessary. Proving these future costs in a way that a jury or insurance adjuster will accept requires a specific type of evidence — the life care plan.
What Is a Life Care Plan?
A life care plan is a comprehensive, evidence-based document prepared by a certified life care planner (typically a nurse, physiatrist, or rehabilitation specialist with specific credentialing) that projects all of the medical and care-related costs an injured person will incur over their remaining lifetime as a result of their injuries. The document is not speculative — it is grounded in the injured person’s medical records, treating physician recommendations, functional assessments, and established treatment protocols for their specific diagnosis. A well-prepared life care plan identifies each category of anticipated expense, the frequency and unit cost of each item, and the duration over which each expense will be incurred — then calculates the total present value of all projected costs.
A typical life care plan for a serious Nevada personal injury victim might include: ongoing physician visits and specialist appointments, future surgeries or procedures anticipated by treating physicians, prescription medications, physical and occupational therapy, durable medical equipment (wheelchairs, hospital beds, communication devices), home health aide or personal care attendant hours, home modification costs (ramps, grab bars, accessible bathroom), vehicle modification, psychological counseling, and in the most severe cases, residential care or skilled nursing facility costs.
Life Care Plan vs. Economic Expert Testimony
A life care plan is often paired with an economic damages expert — an economist or CPA who takes the life care planner’s cost projections and calculates their present value in today’s dollars, accounting for medical cost inflation over time. This present value calculation is important because it converts a stream of future payments into a single lump-sum award that, when invested, will generate sufficient returns to fund the projected care. Nevada juries are instructed to award future damages that fairly compensate the plaintiff for what the evidence shows they will actually need — the life care plan provides that evidentiary foundation.
How Defendants Attack Life Care Plans
The at-fault driver’s insurance carrier will typically retain its own medical expert or life care planner to challenge your plan — arguing that certain items are unnecessary, that costs are overstated, that a less expensive treatment alternative exists, or that recovery will be more complete than your experts project. This battle of experts is central to serious personal injury trials. The credibility of your life care planner — their credentials, methodology, reliance on treating physician input, and familiarity with Nevada cost data — determines how persuasive the plan is to a jury. Life care planners who have testified in Nevada courts and who use Nevada-specific cost data (rather than national averages) are generally more effective.
When Is a Life Care Plan Worth the Investment?
Life care plans are typically prepared in cases where future medical costs are significant — generally when projected lifetime costs exceed $200,000-$300,000. In cases involving permanent disability, lifelong medication, or attendant care needs, the cost of the plan (typically $5,000-$15,000) is a small fraction of the recoverable damages it documents. In catastrophic injury cases — paralysis, severe TBI, limb amputation — life care plans routinely project lifetime costs in the millions of dollars. Without this evidence, the jury cannot award what the victim genuinely needs.
Contact Marathon Law Group
Marathon Law Group works with certified life care planners and economic experts to document future medical costs in serious Nevada personal injury cases. Contact us for a free consultation if you or a family member has suffered a serious injury that will require ongoing medical care.