Retaining an economist in a spinal cord injury matter centers on the life care plan and the earnings record. The plan supplies the attendant care, equipment, supplies, and modification items that usually form the largest component; the earnings and benefit records define the but-for path; and the medical opinions on work capacity and life expectancy set the post-injury path and the duration of each stream. The scope should state that the economist values the plan as authored, reconciles it with the household services claim, and applies growth and discount assumptions by category.
Checklist
Run the conflict check and agree on the components in scope
Obtain the life care plan with item-level tables, or confirm its delivery date against the report deadline
Request the earnings history and benefit plan documents
Obtain the medical opinions on life expectancy and post-injury work capacity
Document the household work the person performed before the injury and the hours now supplied by family
Questions to ask the economist
How do you assign growth rates to attendant care, equipment, supplies, and medical items?
How do you apply a life expectancy opinion that differs from the general population tables?
How do you treat equipment replacement cycles and home and vehicle modifications?
How do you present the report so each valued item ties to a plan line?
Timeline
About one week for retention and the records request, then two to four weeks of analysis after the plan and the records arrive, then one to two weeks for the draft and final report.
Required documents
Tax returns, W-2s or 1099s, and pay stubs for the years before the injury
Employer benefit plan documents
The life care plan with item-level frequencies, durations, and unit costs
Medical opinions on life expectancy and work capacity
Household composition and the person's pre-injury role in the home
Common pitfalls
Engaging the economist before the plan is scheduled, so the largest component has no source at the deadline
Applying general population life expectancy without addressing the medical opinion on the injury's effect
Leaving fringe benefits out of a trade or union earnings base
Does the economist review the life care plan for medical accuracy?
No. Plan authorship and medical judgment stay with the professional who wrote it. The economist reviews the plan for the information needed to value it: items, frequencies, durations, unit costs, and the basis for its life expectancy, and raises questions with the author when an item cannot be priced as written.
What should the engagement letter say about the life care plan?
That the economist values the plan as authored, item by item, with growth and discount assumptions by category, and refers questions about an item's content to the plan's author. It should also state the plan's expected delivery date and provide for a supplemental valuation if the plan is revised. That language keeps the economist's role clear at deposition.
How long does the economic report take once the plan is delivered?
Several weeks of analysis for the plan's present value, the earnings and benefit components, and the household services reconciliation, then a draft and final report. The item count in the plan and the number of care categories with different growth rates set the pace. Counsel should send the earnings and benefit records earlier so those components are finished before the plan arrives.
References
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). Consumer Price Index: Medical care [Fact sheet]. U.S. Department of Labor. bls.gov
National Center for Health Statistics. (n.d.). Life tables. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved August 26, 2026. cdc.gov
U.S. Department of the Treasury. (n.d.). Daily Treasury par yield curve rates. home.treasury.gov