In Ontario catastrophic injury litigation, the Future Care Cost Report — the life care plan — is the most complex and frequently the most influential damages document. It translates a lifetime of medical necessity into a concrete dollar figure that a court can award or parties can negotiate. A well-constructed plan supported by credible expert evidence forms the evidentiary backbone of the future care damages claim.
Life care plans are typically prepared by certified life care planners (CLCPs) — occupational therapists, nurses, or rehabilitation specialists with specialized certification. The planner reviews the complete medical record; interviews the injured person and family in the home environment; consults directly with treating specialists including physiatrists, neurologists, and psychiatrists; and synthesizes findings into a detailed, item-by-item projection of future needs.
Defence life care plans: In every serious catastrophic case, the defence retains its own life care planner whose report minimizes future care requirements. Choose your planner based on credentials, methodology transparency, and experience testifying — not convenience. The battle of life care plans frequently determines the range of settlement or trial outcome.
A comprehensive Ontario life care plan addresses: ongoing physician and specialist care; physiotherapy, OT, and rehabilitation services; psychological and psychiatric treatment; prescription medications and replacement schedules; durable medical equipment and adaptive devices with replacement cycles; home modification costs; vehicle adaptation; personal support worker and attendant care costs through life expectancy; vocational rehabilitation; and periodic reassessment costs.
The life care plan quantifies annual future care costs. A forensic actuary then converts those costs to a present-value lump sum — the amount that, if invested today, would fund all projected future expenditures. The actuary uses discount rates, mortality tables, and care cost escalation projections. The actuary’s report and the life care plan work together to produce the final future care damages figure.