Case Records Review

Vocational and Life Care Plan Evaluations require detailed information about an individual’s past and current social, professional, and medical functioning; however, self-report is subject to both conscious and unconscious biases that may skew the final opinions. For this reason, our experts at Stokes & Associates, Inc. utilize other sources of information to corroborate the information learned in an evaluation, which ensures our opinions and reports are based on the most accurate and complete information available. One important collateral source of information is a thorough record review.

When generating a life care plan, we rely on medical, psychiatric, and psychological records to provide detailed information relating to an individual’s treatment, medications, prognosis, and medically-derived restrictions or limitations. This information allows us to create a life care plan that is precisely tailored to the specific individual, incorporating explicit recommendations provided by their treating physicians and utilizing knowledge of their exact needs. The recommendations included in our life care plans are directly linked to the medical, rehabilitation, and psychological records, which gives our reports the strong foundation necessary to be presented and defended in court.

With vocational analyses, we also rely on educational records and documentation of earnings to supplement our understanding of their pre- and post-injury earning capacity and employability. For example, most individuals are generally aware of how much money they earn, but few can provide detailed salary and tax information off-hand. When we are able to access and analyze an individual’s tax documents we can survey their earning history and more reliably calculate their post-injury lost earning capacity. Further, records pertaining to an individual’s work ethic, work stability, and return to work attempts can aid us in identifying viable future employment opportunities for that individual.

We take pride in being thorough but efficient, so our record review process is scrupulous but well organized. To consult with one of our experts at Stokes & Associates, Inc. about what records you should send to us and how we will utilize them, please call David Barrett at 504- 454-5009, visit our website, www.stokes-associates.com, or email dbarrett@stokesassociates.com.

Larry S. Stokes, Ph.D.
Aaron Wolfson, Ph.D.
Lacy Sapp, MHS, CRC, LPC, LRC, CLCP
Todd Capielano, M.Ed., LRC, CRC, LPC, CLCP