Episode 21 - Why Saying Less Makes You a More Powerful Expert Witness

Physicians and attorneys hear terms like vocational evaluation and life care plan all the time, but few understand what actually goes into building one. In this episode, Dr. Brian Woodruff talks with Ira Morris, a rehabilitation counselor, certified vocational evaluator, and certified life care planner with more than 30 years of experience and roughly 250 depositions under his belt. Morris, the show's first guest from the vocational rehab and life care planning world, breaks down how lost-earning-capacity and future-care opinions are constructed, where they fall apart, and what keeps an expert credible under cross-examination. Along the way, he explains the difference between a medical impairment and a vocational handicap, why "earning capacity" means far more than past earnings, how usual-and-customary costs are sourced and geographically adjusted, and the foundational mistakes that sink poorly built life care plans. You'll also hear practical guidance on preparation, staying in your lane, reading the deposing attorney, what attorneys should have in place before they call a life care expert, and where AI is genuinely useful in this work and where it isn't. A clear, grounded look at two specialties that shape catastrophic injury litigation. Subscribe, leave a review, and share with a colleague working in expert witness work, medicine, or litigation strategy.