Future Medical Expenses: Evidence and Care Needs
Future medical expense is a question about care expected after the current record, not a blank estimate for everything that might happen. California jury instructions ask whether future care is reasonably certain to be needed, reasonably necessary and supported by a reasonable cost. Start with a treating provider’s written recommendation, then note the proposed service, frequency, duration and source for its cost. Keep possible complications and unconfirmed procedures on an open-question list until qualified evidence addresses them.
Hurt Advice editorial guide. Source review: . This guide does not state that the attorney authored, reviewed or approved it. Visit the profile for public licensing and background records.
Review the attorney’s public background, then confirm experience and availability directly.
Raffi Naljian
Founder, Civil Litigation, Personal Injury & Criminal Defense Attorney
Raffi Garabed Naljian is the founder of Naljian Law Offices and an active California attorney under State Bar #238919. A Los Angeles Times profile says he founded the firm in 2008 after beginning his legal career in 1997, and the State Bar lists personal injury, litigation, criminal law, and business law among his self-reported practice areas.
View Raffi Naljian's full verified profilePrimary identity record
Learn more about Raffi Naljian
This is a focused supporting page. Use Raffi Naljian's full sourced attorney profile as the primary identity record for biography, role, languages, office information, and public-record links. Review that profile alongside the issue-specific preparation and public sources below.
The State Bar record lists Raffi Garabed Naljian as an active California attorney, State Bar #238919. Hurt Advice is a separate referral and legal information service, not the attorney's law firm.
How to Evaluate Attorney Fit for This Issue
Ask counsel how a medical provider’s prognosis, the actual care plan and the cost evidence would be obtained and tested. A life-care planner or economist may be relevant in some cases, but a generic projection is not a substitute for medical support. Discuss any offer or release with the known and unknown needs clearly separated; no page can determine the right settlement date or amount.
Consultation worksheet
Future-care recommendation and cost worksheet
Use one entry per proposed service. The worksheet is not a medical plan or a present-value calculator; record only provider-supported facts and open questions.
There is no submit or save action. Copy your notes before leaving this page.
What service is recommended, by which qualified provider, on what date, and for what stated reason?
Does the record call this expected care, a conditional option or a possible complication? What decision or reassessment is pending?
What written source supports when care starts, how often it occurs and when it may end?
Which itemized quote, current charge or comparable record supports a unit cost, and what are its date and location?
Which causation, medical, pricing or economic assumption needs a qualified review before it enters a claim calculation?
Sources for this guide
- Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (2026), CACI 3903A and 3904A
Official future-medical-care standard and, when applicable, present-cash-value instruction; the facts and evidence determine use.
- California Evidence Code section 720
Qualifications matter when expert testimony is used for a prognosis or specialized opinion.
- California Evidence Code section 801
Expert opinion must concern a subject sufficiently beyond common experience and rely on a proper basis.
- California Courts: Personal injury cases
Official overview of documenting medical expenses and other injury-related losses in a civil claim.
What to Do Next
- 1Request the treating provider’s current notes and ask which additional care is expected, why it is needed, and whether alternatives or follow-up assessment remain open.
- 2For each recommended service, record likely timing, frequency and duration from the provider’s statement; do not convert a possibility into a lifetime schedule.
- 3Match each service to an itemized cost estimate, actual current charge or other explainable price source. Mark the geographic and date assumptions.
- 4Ask a qualified reviewer which medical and economic assumptions remain disputed, including causation, future need and any calculation for later costs.
Evidence Checklist
- Current diagnosis and prognosis in the treating provider’s words, with date and scope of assessment
- Written recommendations for follow-up visits, therapy, medication, equipment or assistance if applicable
- Care frequency, duration and alternatives actually supported by the provider
- Itemized present charges, quotes or comparable cost sources with date and location
- Any qualified expert explanation of a projected cost and the assumptions it uses
Keep your unanswered questions handy when comparing the attorney’s public profile with your needs.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Treating every conceivable complication as a reasonably certain expense
- Using a percentage example or unsupported lifetime total as proof a procedure is recoverable
- Multiplying a current bill across years without support for duration, frequency or future price
- Assuming maximum medical improvement or a particular test is required before any legal decision
How the Process Typically Works
Medical basis
Identify the provider’s actual prognosis and written expected care; distinguish it from possible options.
Cost basis
Gather itemized prices and record timing, frequency, duration and assumptions for each supported service.
Decision review
Ask qualified professionals to test the medical and economic assumptions before evaluating a proposed release.
Damages Questions to Discuss with Counsel
- •Which past expenses are supported by records and legally recoverable?
- •What qualified evidence supports future care or work limitations?
- •Which losses are disputed, and what additional documentation would clarify them?
- •Are other people’s claims or obligations separate from this claim?
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I include a procedure that might be needed someday?
Keep it marked as a possibility until qualified evidence addresses whether it is reasonably certain, reasonably necessary and what it would reasonably cost. A percentage alone does not establish recovery.
Must every serious injury have a life-care plan?
No. The needed support depends on the proposed care and dispute. Ask what a treating clinician has actually recommended and whether a qualified planning or cost opinion would answer a material question.
Can I multiply today’s treatment bill by the number of future years?
That would assume the same frequency, duration and price without proof. Identify the provider’s plan and an explainable price source first; ask a qualified reviewer how later costs should be evaluated.
When should a settlement be considered?
A release can affect future claims, so review it with the documented prognosis, unresolved care questions, deadlines and proposed terms. There is no universal treatment milestone or settlement date.
Use the attorney’s public background as a starting point for a direct conversation about fit.
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Attorney Advertising. Hurt Advice is a lawyer-referral and legal-information service, not a law firm. This website provides general information, not legal advice. Viewing a page or submitting a form does not create an attorney-client relationship. Independent participating attorneys decide whether to accept a matter, and representation begins only under a separate written agreement. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome; results depend on the facts and circumstances of each matter.