The following table presents general guidelines for the
information required by vocational, economic, or life care plan experts in more
common types of cases. The
abbreviations in the column headings stand for the following:
In order to begin analysis of a case, in addition to
gathering the listed information, please contact the expert
you wish to retain for further details.
Info. Needed (If bulleted, click to expand)
|
PI-A
|
C/YA
|
WD
|
LCP
|
EL
|
| Full case name, court case number, and court name |
√ |
√ |
√ |
√ |
√ |
| Date of birth |
√ |
√ |
√ |
√ |
√ |
|
Date
of injury/death/action (e.g., termination) |
√ |
√ |
√ |
√ |
√ |
|
Copy
of the death certificate |
|
|
√ |
|
|
|
Client’s,
spouse’s, or family member’s work and home phone numbers |
√ |
|
√ |
√ |
√ |
|
Parents’/guardians’
work and home phone numbers |
|
√ |
|
|
|
- School records, including
standardized test scores
- This should include all
scores available both prior to and since injury.
|
|
√ |
|
|
|
|
Recent
Individual Education Plan (IEP), if applicable |
|
√ |
|
|
|
|
Parents’
education and work histories |
|
√ |
|
|
|
|
Educational
background and relevant training, certifications, etc. |
√ |
|
√
|
|
√
|
- Employment history
- Resume or historical
employment listing showing type of work
|
√ |
|
√ |
|
√ |
- Information about any
pre-existing health conditions
- This should include any
medical or psychological reports addressing the permanent limitations the
client would have experienced had the current injury in question not
occurred.
|
√ |
√ |
√ |
|
√ |
|
Medical/psychological
depositions |
√ |
√ |
|
√ |
√ |
- Medical/psychological summary
reports
- This should include any
reports that deal with the client’s specific exertional
and nonexertional limitations. It
is also important to gather evidence that the injury is permanent and that
the client has reached maximum medical improvement.
(If the injury is not permanent, date of expected recovery should
be provided. Loss of earnings
will likely be limited in this case.)
If maximum medical improvement has not yet been reached, evidence
should be gathered regarding when this is anticipated and what permanent
limitations are expected once this level is reached.
|
√ |
√ |
|
√ |
√ |
|
Hospital
discharge summaries |
√ |
√ |
|
√ |
|
|
Hospital admission sheets, operative reports |
√ |
√ |
|
|
|
|
Consultation
reports |
|
|
|
√ |
|
|
Recent
hospital visit notes/reports from all treating doctors and psychologists |
|
|
|
√ |
|
|
Recent
therapy notes/reports from all therapists |
|
|
|
√ |
|
- Neuropsychological
depositions or reports, if head injury
- As with medical reports,
these documents should determine the permanence of the injury and whether
or not maximum improvement has been reached.
Reports should be specific regarding the emotional and/or cognitive
limitations experienced by the individual.
|
√ |
√ |
|
√ |
|
- Earnings figures beginning 5
years prior to injury up to the present
- This should include all W-2s
and/or 1099s and a complete copy of tax returns, including all supporting
schedules. In addition, if
the person owns a business, the earnings information should include a
complete copy of the business tax returns with supporting schedules, in
addition to the individual returns.
Many clients will probably have these documents already and will simply
need to copy them. For those
that do not, the links below will enable people to gather past earnings
data that they are missing. Social Security will send a list of
earnings for years in which Social Security taxes were paid, and the
IRS can provide copies of tax returns going back a few years.
- An annual earnings statement can be obtained by filling out the
Request for Social Security
Statement form and returning it to the address listed at the end
of the form. To make the request online or receive further
information, visit the Social
Security Administration website.
- To obtain copies of old tax returns, fill out the
Request for Copy of Tax Return
form and return it to one of the addresses on page 2. To
receive additional information, visit the
IRS
website.
|
√ |
√ |
√ |
|
√ |
- Compensation information
current and prior to incident
- This should include job
descriptions, information regarding the individual’s wage/salary, union contracts,
and general list of benefits, as well as details on pensions, 401k plans,
stock options, and bonus incentives, if available.
|
√ |
|
√ |
|
√ |
- Names and dates of birth of
spouse and minor children
- This information is important
if replacement cost for household services is to be computed.
|
√ |
|
√ |
|
|
|
Verified Bills of Particulars |
√ |
√ |
√ |
√ |
√ |
|
Responses to Interrogatories |
√ |
√ |
√ |
√ |
√ |
