Forensic Vocational Services

When people develop an illness or sustain injuries, they can experience a wide range of permanent or long-term losses. These losses can impact an individual’s health status, activities of daily living, social and recreational life, family responsibilities, and participation in work.  The extent to which individuals can return to their pre-loss activities, maintain their quality of life and resume earning an income will vary, even between two individuals who have the same illness or sustain the same injury. Quantifying these losses in terms of the impact on an individual’s quality of life as well as their ability to earn an income is tedious and often leads to legal disputes.

Motion Assessments Inc. evaluations provide a forensic analysis of these losses and the extent to which they can be mitigated through the recovery process, to the point at which the individual has reached the maximum recovery possible with medical and therapeutic interventions. The extent of medical, functional and vocational recovery varies from one individual to another, even between two individuals who have the same illness or sustain the same injury, due to many factors, including but not limited to pre-incident morbidity, lifestyle, personal responsibilities, education and biopsychosocial factors.  Therefore, a detailed analysis of all the information pertinent to loss and recovery related directly or indirectly to an illness or injury is necessary to help define losses specific to each person involved in a claim or legal dispute.  This level of analysis informs objective cost recommendations associated with those losses as well as the potential for mitigation. 

Forensic evaluations may also consider the impact to family members, dependents or any other parties (e.g., business associates), directly or indirectly resulting from the loss. Such evaluations are carried out through a comprehensive analysis of documentation related to:

• illness or injuries and their sequelae,

• earnings (actual and potential),

• vocational and avocational activities, and

• essentially any aspect of the individual’s life which has changed as a result of their loss.

An in-person assessment may or may not be required, which is determined on a case-by-case basis.

Additional areas where such forensic evaluations can be useful include:

• Separation, divorce and custody disputes – to determine the ability of a spouse to earn income or pay support, as well as to determine costs related to the care of children, especially in the case of children with special needs

• Wrongful death – to determine related costs based on losses experienced by the family and/or dependents of the deceased

• Medical malpractice – to determine costs based on losses experienced as a result of medical intervention (or lack of intervention)