Services

We offer a broad range of vocational services including:

Life Care Plans

What is a life care plan? A life care plan is a way to plan for the lifetime needs of an individual with a disability. This report summarizes future needs and costs for persons with permanent injuries. This may be a back injury, traumatic brain injury, burns, or a catastrophic injury such as quadriplegia or paraplegia. Life care plans may also benefit those who suffer from chronic pain and require a lifetime of medication and follow-up care. There are many other categories that may fall within this but in 1998, the International Academy of Life Care Planner defined a life care plan as follows:

“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.” (International Conference on Life Care Planning and the International Academy of Life Care Planners. Adopted 1998, April.)

If you are uncertain of what your client or case needs, call us for a free consultation. We work with both plaintiff and defense attorneys as well as insurance adjusters and family members who want to plan for their loved one's future care expenses.

Medical Cost Projection

A medical cost projection differs from a life care plan in that it typically addresses only a handful of varied expenses. This may include ongoing medications, follow-up care, injections, physical therapy, or potential surgery. Medical cost projections are ideal for pre-suit cases or those where an estimate is needed for settlement/negotiating/mediation purposes.

Vocational Rehabilitation

Occupational Consulting has 20 years of experience in the vocational rehabilitation field. This includes vocational evaluations to determine employability and wage-earning capacity in both litigated and non-litigated matters. This may include vocational assessment, job placement, labor market surveys, testing, on-site job analysis/developing a job description, and navigating return to work for those with permanent restrictions.

These tools may be useful in a variety of settings such as:

• Worker's Compensation
• Divorce
• Wrongful Death
• Liability

Expert Witness Services

Occupational Consulting, LLC is owned and operated by Kathy Jackson Smith, MS, CRC, CLCP. Mrs. Smith is a vocational rehabilitation counselor and life care planner with 20 years of experience in rehabilitation counseling and expert witness testimony. Mrs. Smith has been accepted as an expert in both life care planning and/or vocational rehabilitation in both state and federal court, including chancery and circuit courts. In addition, she has provided testimony for the Social Security Administration and in Worker's Compensation hearings.