Economic, Psychological, and Vocational Costs Associated With Kidney Disease and Failure: Development of Life Care Plans to Account for Applicable Costs

Unfortunately, due to a variety of conditions, the human kidneys may fail to perform adequately, resulting in either chronic kidney disease (i.e., reduced capacity for the kidneys to filter products and byproducts at their full capacity), or kidney failure (i.e., inability for the kidneys to filter in any significant, or functional capacity). In the scope of litigation, kidney failure may result from many circumstances, in which personal injury litigation may follow, such as trauma, medication errors, alongside other reasons. As such, life care planning offers an opportunity to appraise cost estimates associated with failure, furthermore offering the foundation for the present article. The present article addresses nomenclature pertaining to both kidney disease and failure, mechanisms to set up the life care plan, psychological overlay and its related costs, and the vocational losses potentially associated with applicable diagnoses. Lastly, quality of life (QOL) issues will be discussed as QOL significantly affects personal and social adjustment, and, ultimately, probable costs in a life care plan. Keywords: psychological adjustment, life expectancy, return-to-work, kidney failure, dialysis