09/23/2026
Families dealing with a spinal cord injury in Richmond ask us a version of the same question within the first month: how does anyone put a number on the rest of a life?
There is an actual answer. It is called a life care plan.
A certified life care planner, usually working with the treating rehabilitation team, builds a line-by-line projection of what the injury will require for as long as the person lives:
• Attendant care — how many hours a day, at what level of skill
• Equipment on replacement cycles. A power chair is not bought once
• Home modification — ramps, doorways, a roll-in shower
• Medications, supplies, and the complications the medicine says to expect
• Therapies and ongoing physician follow-up
• Lost earnings and lost earning capacity
An economist then reduces all of it to present value.
Two things worth knowing. A plan built before someone has plateaued medically tends to understate what they will need. And the largest line is almost always attendant care — the one families underestimate, because right now they are providing it themselves.
If your family is facing this in Richmond, call us. Even if you never hire anyone, understanding how the number is built is worth the conversation.
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