How a CHT-CLCP strengthens damages analysis, care projections, and case value for plaintiff and defense attorneys
When upper extremity injuries are involved in litigation, subtle functional losses in the hand, wrist, or elbow can translate into lifelong limitations, diminished earning capacity, and significant future medical costs. These cases benefit from a specialist who understands fine motor function, long-term surgical outcomes, and real-world task performance.
A Certified Hand Therapist who is also a Certified Life Care Planner (CHT-CLCP) brings that level of specialization.
A Certified Hand Therapist must complete 4,000+ hours of direct upper extremity rehab practice, a minimum of three years of clinical work, and pass an advanced examination focusing exclusively on upper-limb rehabilitation. When that expertise is combined with life care planning training, attorneys benefit from dual-credentialed expertise that strengthens the credibility and defensibility of future care projections.
This specialization becomes invaluable in claims involving:
Upper extremity trauma is rarely isolated. Functional consequences often evolve — and a specialist is best positioned to evaluate long-term implications.
A hand-specialized LCP translates clinical impairment into function, independence, and cost impact over a lifetime, ensuring your plan accounts for:
The result:
A life care plan that is clinically accurate, defensible, and practical, informed by real-world outcomes — not just literature.
A middle-aged nurse sustains a comminuted wrist fracture from a motorcycle crash requiring ORIF and prolonged therapy. Despite maximum rehabilitation, grip strength remains poor and endurance is limited.
Key attorney-relevant questions become:
A CHT-CLCP knows how to anticipate these functional issues, verify needs with treating providers, and justify future treatment, equipment, and cost projections with clarity for mediation or trial.
Beyond authorship of the life care plan, our expert can assist counsel by:
For hand-intensive occupations — healthcare, mechanics, laborers, artists, musicians, office professions — work capacity and future earning potential may be significantly affected. A specialized planner ensures those losses are captured accurately.
Elisa Marks, OTR/L, CHT-CLCP
Certified Hand Therapist • Certified Life Care Planner • 25+ years upper extremity clinical experience
Elisa brings decades of direct treatment experience in hand and upper extremity rehabilitation, has served as an educator in the field, and is a pre-publication reviewer for the Journal of Hand Surgery. Her evaluations and life care plans reflect the lived reality of upper extremity recovery — not just theory — resulting in highly credible, defensible work product for litigation.
Have a Hand or Wrist Case? Consult With Us.
Early involvement from a hand-specialized life care planner strengthens case value, clarifies future care costs, and improves expert strategy.
