PINNACLE LIFE CARE PLANNING

Physician-directed life care plans built to withstand deposition, Daubert, and trial.

Evidence-based future medical cost projections for catastrophic injury and chronic illness — prepared exclusively by a board-certified physician and Certified Life Care Planner, never delegated to non-physician staff.

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MD  Board-Certified Physician
CLCP  Certified Life Care Planner (ICHCC)
SDVOSB  Veteran-Owned Practice
TX + Nationwide  Plaintiff & Defense
Who We Are

Medical authority. Litigation-grade rigor.

Pinnacle Life Care Planning is a physician-owned medicolegal firm dedicated to delivering medically authoritative, evidence-based life care plans that withstand rigorous scrutiny in mediation, deposition, and trial.

Founded and led by Rodney Sholty, MD, CLCP — a board-certified physician and Certified Life Care Planner — we combine decades of direct clinical experience across emergency, hospital, and case-management settings with specialized training in future medical cost projection and catastrophic case management.

We serve plaintiff and defense counsel, insurance carriers, case managers, and trust administrators across Texas and nationwide, with particular depth in traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, complex orthopedic trauma, amputation, and chronic pain.

Physician-Only Work Product

Every plan is researched, written, and signed by a physician. Nothing is delegated to non-physician staff — ensuring the medical foundation holds up under cross-examination.

Objectivity for Either Side

We are retained by plaintiff and defense alike. Our opinions follow the medical evidence — the same methodology, regardless of who retains us.

Transparent, Defensible Costing

Every line item is sourced, geographically adjusted, and tied to published standards and peer-reviewed literature.

Services

Medicolegal services for complex injury litigation

Engagements for personal injury, medical malpractice, and workers' compensation matters. A fee schedule and retention agreement are available upon request.

01

Comprehensive Life Care Plans

Full lifetime projections of medical care, rehabilitation, therapies, equipment, medications, home modifications, and attendant care — with detailed narrative, cost tables, and peer-reviewed references.

02

Life Care Plan Review & Rebuttal

Critical analysis of opposing life care plans: methodology audits, duplication and inflation review, and concise rebuttal reports for defense or plaintiff counsel.

03

Future Medical Cost Projections

Focused cost projections when a full life care plan isn't required — geographically adjusted, source-cited estimates suitable for mediation and settlement valuation.

04

Expert Witness Testimony

Clear, credible physician testimony at deposition and trial. Opinions are prepared to Daubert and Rule 702 standards from the outset.

05

Veteran & VA-Integrated Plans

Life care plans that properly account for VA benefits and polytrauma system resources — informed by first-hand experience as a service-connected disabled veteran.

06

Medical Record Review & Chronologies

Physician-level record analysis, medical chronologies, and causation-relevant summaries that give counsel command of the medical facts.

Methodology

Built for the courtroom, grounded in the literature

Every Pinnacle plan follows the published Standards of Practice for life care planners and is documented so that each recommendation and cost can be independently verified.

Standards-Based Process

Methodology consistent with IALCP Standards of Practice and ICHCC certification requirements.

Daubert & Rule 702 Ready

Reliable principles and methods, applied consistently and documented transparently — prepared with admissibility in mind.

Evidence-Based Recommendations

Care recommendations tied to peer-reviewed literature, clinical practice guidelines, and treating-provider input.

Sourced, Local Costing

Costs drawn from verifiable databases and geographically specific market research — every figure traceable to its source.

Rodney Sholty, MD, CLCP

Founder & Principal
  • Board-certified physician — 15+ years of clinical practice
  • Certified Life Care Planner (ICHCC)
  • Emergency, hospital, and primary care medicine
  • RN case-management supervision experience
  • U.S. Navy veteran — service-disabled veteran-owned practice
  • Sample work product available on request
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Credentials

Why a physician-authored plan matters

Most life care plans are written by nurses or rehabilitation counselors. A physician-authored plan carries a fundamentally different evidentiary weight: the author is qualified to opine on diagnosis, prognosis, causation-adjacent medical questions, and the medical necessity of every recommended item — not merely to catalog them.

Dr. Sholty's career spans the full continuum of care: high-acuity emergency medicine, inpatient hospitalist practice, primary care in underserved communities, and supervision of RN case-management teams. That breadth translates directly into realistic patient trajectories, accurate resource utilization, and projections that survive expert challenge.

His CLCP credential through the International Commission on Health Care Certification (ICHCC) reflects rigorous specialized training in lifetime cost projection aligned with the International Academy of Life Care Planners' standards.

Who We Serve

Retained by both sides of the bar

For Plaintiff Counsel

  • Comprehensive plans that fully capture lifetime damages
  • Settlement-ready cost tables and demonstrative summaries
  • Credible physician testimony that connects with juries
  • Coordination with economists for present-value analysis

For Defense Counsel & Carriers

  • Independent review and rebuttal of opposing plans
  • Identification of duplicated, inflated, or unsupported items
  • Objective alternative projections grounded in the records
  • Deposition support and cross-examination preparation
Contact

Discuss your case

Complimentary initial case consultation. Rapid conflict checks and clear timelines on every engagement.

Phone
512-955-7775
Location
5900 Balcones Dr. STE 24959, Austin, TX 78731
Serving counsel nationwide
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