Price a supported care scenario—not a diagnosis, a national average, or every service someone might someday use.

Begin with a 24-hour functional picture: transfers, pressure relief, skin inspection, bathing, dressing, bowel and bladder routines, catheter or supply use, medication, meals, mobility, respiratory tasks if present, transportation, household activity, appointments, work or school, and nighttime interruption. Record who performs each task, whether prompting or hands-on help is needed, what equipment is used, and how long the routine reasonably takes.

Gather current orders and recommendations from treating disciplines. Medical follow-up, therapy, nursing, attendant care, medication, supplies, wheelchair and seating, cushions, beds, lifts, transfer devices, respiratory equipment, home access, bathroom changes, vehicle adaptations, technology, vocational services, and counseling may be relevant for some people. Each item needs purpose, frequency, duration, start, replacement, and whether it is expected, contingent, or optional.

Document actual utilization and barriers. Delayed delivery, rural travel, authorization denials, caregiver shortages, inaccessible housing, equipment breakdown, skin issues, hospitalization, and personal preference can change the realistic plan. Past underuse does not necessarily mean no future need, but the difference must be explained. Likewise, a device trial or recommendation should not be priced as a lifetime purchase if the person rejected it or the medical team changed course.

Treating physicians and rehabilitation providers should support diagnoses, medical necessity, restrictions, prognosis, complication risk, and recommended frequency. A life-care planner can collect those opinions, inspect function, identify care categories, research prices, and model scenarios within the planner's qualifications. If the planner proposes an item absent from the medical record, the source and basis should be made explicit and confirmed where necessary.

Pricing should distinguish charge, negotiated payment, retail, supplier quote, wage rate, agency rate, and government fee schedule. Identify professional and facility components, tax, shipping, installation, maintenance, repair, training, backup, replacement, travel, and consumables. A CMS category definition can help explain durable medical equipment. Medicare coverage criteria and payment do not establish reasonable tort cost or guarantee that a particular item will be covered.

The economist should receive supported quantities and timing, not decide medicine. State the price date, inflation by category, discount rate, mortality or life-expectancy assumption, taxes where relevant, and present-value method. Sensitivity analysis can show how a contested replacement cycle or care level changes the total. Precision to the dollar should not disguise uncertainty in the underlying medical scenario.

Separate self-directed, family, agency, skilled, intermittent, and facility care. Ask what is medically necessary, safe, desired, available, and sustainable. Document family help as work; do not assume a spouse or parent can continue indefinitely or that paid care duplicates ordinary household support. Consider respite, backup, worker turnover, training, and rural availability.

Model equipment and housing around function and environment. Wheelchair assessment should address seating, pressure, posture, propulsion, terrain, transportation, and backup. Home modifications should address the dwelling or reasonable future housing, ownership, useful life, relocation, maintenance, and equivalent alternatives. Vehicle analysis should identify driver or passenger status, transfers, securement, controls, replacement, and licensing.

Use evidence for secondary-condition uncertainty. Skin breakdown, urinary and respiratory problems, pain, spasticity, autonomic episodes, bone health, and other complications may affect care. Projections should use the person's history, risks, prevention plan, and qualified medical opinion. Statistics do not guarantee individual outcomes; scenarios may be more credible than including every possible hospitalization.

Inventory private health insurance, workers' compensation, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, veterans' or Tribal services when applicable, employer benefits, disability and liability coverage, charitable assistance, and family payments. Obtain plan and policy documents, explanations of benefits, authorizations, denials, appeals, liens, and subrogation claims. Benefits may change or depend on eligibility; unpaid needs may still be medically supported.

Review Oklahoma damages law, collateral sources, reasonableness and necessity, past and future expenses, pricing evidence, mitigation, liens, subrogation, and admissibility. Do not total charges, government rates, supplier quotes, and family care without explaining overlap. Payments and write-offs are facts whose legal treatment requires current-law analysis.

Settlement planning may require lien resolution, Medicare compliance, benefits planning, trust or structure advice, guardianship or court approval, tax advice, and reserves for uncovered items. These are specialist questions. Preserve the injured person's control and goals; do not promise a structure protects benefits without current individualized review.