Life Care Planning, Medicare Set-Asides, Legal Nurse Consulting, Medical Case Management

Hess, Karfomenos
& Associates, Inc.
54722 CR 8
Middlebury, IN 46540

Phone: (574) 825-9000
Fax: (574) 825-3355
info@hkamedlegal.com

Life Care Planning

A Life Care Plan is a vital component of any settlement that contains a medical appropriations component.   Hess, Karfomenos & Associates, Inc.  will assist you in building an Expert Damages Team. Our goal is to assure the provision and documentation of the disciplines necessary to evaluate the client and present an objective analysis. Utilization of the Life Care Plan is ever increasing not only in the legal arena, but also within the insurance industry. To have such a thorough and accurate document with monetary assignment available is invaluable to the process of reserve setting, arbitration, Title 15 settlement and adjudication.

We at Hess Karfomenos & Associates, Inc.  apply a scientific and systematic approach to servicing your needs, based upon the standards established by the American Association of Nurse Life Care Planners and the American Nursing Association.

Time to delivery of a Life Care Plan varies on a case-to-case basis. Keeping in mind the complicated and time intensive process of gathering complete medical, environmental, psychosocial and special needs data, scheduling additional medical exams and obtaining final reports integral to the Life Care Plan; one must understand clearly that a sound document and testimony to be utilized for arbitration or trial cannot be produced in a two to three week window. The more allowed time to completion, eliminates the omission of even the minutest detail specific to the individual of record. Identifying the need for a Life Care Plan early in the life of a case is highly recommended, so as to allow the retention of a qualified Certified Nurse Life Care Planer, who can then thoroughly explore, research and extrapolate all pertinent data specific to the future medical needs of the injured individual and deliver a “top shelf” work product to the requesting entity. 

The Certified Nurse Life Care Planner will initially review the case, contact and interview all the current providers and coordinate any additional specialty evaluations needed for a complete disability analysis and future needs projection. An environmental/structural analysis of the individuals domicile is completed as well as a detailed needs assessment based upon an extended in-person interview with the injured in his/her home environment. Family members and support systems are evaluated. Utilization of the extrapolated data is vital to the process of developing a comprehensive and objective projection of future medical needs that is specific to the needs of the individual. It is to the benefit of the individual, that Plaintiff and Defense counsel understand that the in-person interview is of the utmost importance and in the best interest of the injured or medically compromised individual. 

Our Team- is a multi-disciplinary collection of medical professionals that include the individual’s current medical treatment team as well as a needs specific aggregate of medical professionals from the practice areas of  Psychology/Psychiatry, Neuro Psychology, Vocational/Rehabilitation, Physiatry, Pain Management, Physical Therapy/Occupational Therapy and Life Care Planning (to name a few) conduct individual client interviews and testing.

All findings and opinions are shared, specific needs data extrapolated, listed, referenced and finally itemized with associated present day costs. Ultimately, when this document is finally completed a review by an Economist or Accountant is executed, to assign future financial projections weighing inflationary factors, life expectancy figures, etc. the professional opine of the Economist or Accountant provides discussion related to the multiplicity of economic issues impacting the case and ensures that the damage testimony of the experts is presented in an accurate, consistent and qualified manner specific to the life time medical needs of the individual who is the subject of the Life Care Plan. The Life Care Plan is thus a precursor to the Medicare Set Aside Allocation.

The ultimate outcome is ONE COMPREHENSIVE REPORT that provides a consistent, objective, professionally prepared and validated presentation of future medical needs and their associated costs, for the projected lifetime of the insured, injured or claimant.

Hess Karfomenos & Associates Life Care Planning - Clinical Areas of Expertise:

• Neurological
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Burns
• Spinal Cord Injury
• Catastrophic Injury
• Complex Cardiovascular
• Complex Orthopedics
• Organ Transplantation
• Oncology
• Pediatrics
• Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)