Any agreement for services will require a contractual agreement between the parties, which is detailed and will be sent as “Retention Form for Professional Forensic Activities.”
When an attorney is retained as Dr. Blegen’s client, all fees are to be paid to Dr. Blegen by the retaining counsel, not by the counsel’s client.
Fees
All work related to examination $375 per hour
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This includes, but is not limited to:
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Forensic Clinical Interview (about 1.5-3 hours)
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Collateral Informant Interview(s)
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Forensic Neuropsychological Testing (about 4-16 hours), includes breaks taken by examinee
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Forensic Test Scoring (about 2-6 hours)
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Forensic Interpretation / Report Writing (about 6-10 hours)
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Attorney Consultation, such as final results session with counsel to review findings
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Record Review
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Document Management
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Court Testimony Fees
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Testimony or Deposition Time $750 per hour, minimum 4 hours per day
Travel Fees
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Road Travel $50 per hour if out of Sioux Falls & $.25 per mile
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Air Travel $50 per hour
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Per Diem $50 per hour (10 hour per day average hour estimate, this is in addition to road or air travel fees)
All work related to consultation $375 per hour
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This includes, but is not limited to:
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Attorney Consultation
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Record Review
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Document Management
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The attorney or law firm, or public agency in certain circumstances, is responsible for arranging / purchasing any necessary airline flights, hotel accommodations as median for the area, and / or rental car upon negotiation of the dates to be engaged, with this office.
Forensic neuropsychological evaluations are typically complicated and labor intensive. The entire evaluation process on its own typically will take, at a minimum, 16-20 hours, including forensic interview(s), forensic neuropsychological testing, test scoring, and forensic report writing. Each examinee differs in the time they may take to complete testing. Each case varies in terms of the volume of discovery or records required for review. As such, some evaluations require a greater expenditure of time. Evaluations should be expected to take about 20-30 hours to complete. Very complex evaluations can take 30+ hours to complete. Each case varies in post-evaluation work (e.g., deposition review, attorney consultation).
Location of Services
Except where special arrangements have been made, all forensic neuropsychology services will be provided at Dr. Blegen’s private practice office in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Dr. Blegen will typically complete forensic neuropsychology evaluations with an examinee over two consecutive days.
Payment Policy
For forensic neuropsychology evaluation, following an initial consultation by phone, a retainer of 12 hours ($4,500) is customarily submitted along with the fee agreement (retention form) of this office. For consultation, the retainer is 3 hours ($1,125). All retainer payments must be submitted, along with the retention form, in order to schedule and then begin work on a case. Upon exhaustion of the fee agreement, monthly invoices will be sent to counsel, and are due within 60 days upon receipt. Failure to complete payment each month will result in the cessation of work and / or cancellation of any scheduled appointments, pending account payment. Unused retainer balances are returned as credit. All tax preparation must reflect the actual fees paid, if a credit balance has been refunded.
Cancellation Policy
Please contact Dr. Blegen directly to cancel any appointment scheduled with a defendant or plaintiff. Cancellation of the forensic appointment must be made 96 hours prior to that appointment. Since alternative bookings are unlikely at such short notice and time already has been spent, our policy includes a charge of $2,250 for a forensic neuropsychology evaluation appointment “no show” (45 minutes late with no contact, 60 minutes late despite notification that day of late arrival) or late cancellations occurring with insufficient notice (i.e., on or less than 96 hours). The same cancellation policy applies for court testimony or deposition appointments. For consultation appointments, the "no show" policy is 30 minutes late, late cancellation occurring with insufficient notice is 48 hours, and the associated charge is $562.50.
Disclaimer
It is critical to understand that regardless of the source of fees or referral for all evaluations and consultations, Dr. Emily Blegen operates as an independent evaluator. Conclusions will be offered in an unbiased, ethical and professional manner utilizing a best practices approach. As a consequence, the conclusions and recommendations that result may not always support the outcome which was anticipated or desired by the retaining party. You are welcome to discuss the findings of any evaluation in order to determine how you wish to incorporate these services and the conclusions which were drawn in your case.