Occupational therapists who assess functional capacity, future care needs, and the cost of aids, equipment and home and vehicle modifications after injury.
Overview
Occupational therapists assess how an injury affects a person's function at home, at work and in the community, and cost the future care, aids, equipment and home and vehicle modifications that lost function will require. In Queensland personal injury litigation their care report frequently drives the single largest head of damages, future care and assistance, and it underpins claims for gratuitous care of the kind recognised in Griffiths v Kerkemeyer. Occupational therapists assess function and need, not the underlying medical diagnosis or causation, which remain the province of the treating and medico-legal doctors.
Experts Edge connects litigation teams with occupational therapists experienced in functional capacity evaluation and life care planning, each conflict-checked against the parties and each accepting their paramount duty to assist the court under the UCPR Schedule 1C Code of Conduct. An occupational therapy care report works alongside the medical evidence: the doctor fixes diagnosis, impairment and prognosis, and the occupational therapist translates that into the hours of care, the equipment and the modifications the plaintiff will actually need.
Matters these experts support
Occupational Therapy experts are commonly retained on issues including:
Functional capacity evaluation
Structured assessment of what a person can and cannot do physically and cognitively, and how that limits work, self-care and daily activities after injury.
Future care and support needs
The hours and type of paid and gratuitous assistance a person will need over their lifetime, costed to support the future-care head of damages.
Home and vehicle modifications
The reasonable modifications to housing and transport an injured person requires, from grab rails and ramps to a fully accessible bathroom or modified vehicle.
Aids and assistive technology
The wheelchairs, pressure care, communication devices and other equipment a person needs, with replacement cycles and costs projected across the claim period.
Gratuitous versus paid care
Distinguishing care provided free by family from commercial care, and applying the Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) section 59 threshold for gratuitous services damages.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between an occupational therapy expert and a medical expert?
They answer different questions. A medical expert diagnoses the injury, rates permanent impairment and gives a prognosis. An occupational therapist takes the diagnosis as given and assesses what it means in practice: what the person can still do, what care and equipment they need, and what that costs across a lifetime. The occupational therapist's care report is usually what quantifies the future-care claim. Look for an occupational therapist registered with the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia through AHPRA, with genuine medico-legal experience in functional capacity evaluation and life care planning, and a track record of court-compliant reports and cross-examination.
How much does an occupational therapy expert witness cost in Queensland?
Fees vary with the complexity of the injury and the scope of the assessment. Queensland occupational therapists working medico-legally commonly charge hourly rates between $180 and $350 plus GST. A functional capacity evaluation and care needs report, the standard product in a personal injury claim, typically costs between $2,500 and $6,000. A complex catastrophic life care plan, involving a home visit, multiple assessments and lifetime costings for a spinal or brain injury, commonly runs from $6,000 to $15,000 or more. Attendance at a conference of experts or a hearing is usually billed at a daily rate, commonly $2,000 to $4,000. Home visits, travel to regional Queensland and supplementary reports attract additional charges. Always obtain a written fee estimate against a defined scope before instructing.
What must an occupational therapy expert report contain under the UCPR in Queensland?
Rule 428 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld) requires the report to state the expert's qualifications, the facts and assumptions each opinion rests on, the reasoning from those facts to each conclusion, and any material relied on, and the expert must confirm they have read and agree to be bound by the Code of Conduct in Schedule 1C. The reasoning matters most: a care recommendation stated as a bare conclusion, without the assessment findings and assumptions that support it, is an ipse dixit that carries little weight. Every assumption should be identified and its source shown. For an occupational therapy report specifically, each block of recommended care, equipment and modification should be tied to an observed or measured functional deficit and costed to a stated source, so the future-care figure can be traced and tested.
What should a letter of instruction to an occupational therapy expert include?
Assume the letter will be disclosed and annexed to the report, so keep it neutral and avoid suggesting the care hours you want. Set out the assumed facts, the precise questions (current function, future care, aids, equipment, home and vehicle modification, and any gratuitous care component), and identify each assumption and its source. For an occupational therapist the key enclosures are the medical and specialist reports fixing diagnosis and prognosis, imaging and impairment ratings, the plaintiff's pre-injury work and home circumstances, allied health and hospital records, and any existing care records or invoices. Ask the therapist to conduct a home visit where the claim involves care or modifications, confirm the overriding duty to the court, and request a fee estimate and delivery date.
When should I engage an occupational therapy expert?
Early enough that the care report is ready for the compulsory conference, but not before the injury and function have stabilised. In claims under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld) and motor accident claims under the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 (Qld), quantum is negotiated at that conference, and the future-care figure the occupational therapist produces is often the largest number in the claim. Engaging early also lets the therapist visit the home while the plaintiff's circumstances are current, capture the level of family care actually being provided (which supports a gratuitous care claim), and flag missing treating records while they can still be obtained. In catastrophic injury matters, life care planning should begin once the condition is stable but well before the timetable tightens.
Which Queensland matters typically need an occupational therapy expert?
Occupational therapy care reports appear across the injury jurisdictions wherever future care and assistance is in issue. In personal injury claims under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld) and motor accident (CTP) claims under the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 (Qld), a functional capacity evaluation and care report commonly supports the future-care and gratuitous-care heads of damages. Catastrophic injury claims, spinal cord and acquired brain injury in particular, almost always need a full life care plan. Occupational therapists are also retained in public liability and medical negligence claims involving lasting disability, and to assess home and vehicle modifications and assistive technology. They are frequently briefed alongside a medical expert, who fixes diagnosis and impairment while the therapist quantifies the care.
Can an occupational therapy report support a claim for gratuitous care in Queensland?
Yes, and it is often the evidence that proves it. Damages for gratuitous (unpaid) family care, the head recognised in Griffiths v Kerkemeyer, must be quantified before a court can award them, and the occupational therapist's care report is where the hours are counted and valued. The key constraint in Queensland is section 59 of the Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld): damages for gratuitous services are not recoverable unless the services are, or are to be, provided for at least six hours per week and for at least six months. A good report records the level and frequency of family care actually being provided and tests the future need against that threshold, so the claim is not defeated on the arithmetic. Workers' compensation claims are treated differently, as that scheme has its own basis for care.
Other areas of expertise
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