The "Steps" in a Personal Injury Case
I am sometimes asked what the basic "steps" are in pursuing an insurance claim for physical harms and losses. Of course, not every step is applicable to every case, and some cases require actions that are not listed here. However, the following actions are some of the services we provide while working on your case:
- Interview the client
- Help the client understand their options
- Gather essential information
- Contact the insurance company to open the claim
- Open the physical file
- Open the electronic file
- Provide basic advice on property damage issues
- Analyze the legal issues, such as negligence, comparative fault, and causation, and harms
- Identify and investigate the insurance policies to determine applicable coverage
- Prepare and send a letter of representation to the insurance company
- Order the police report
- Interview witnesses
- Send an affidavit of insurance to at-fault driver
- Notify Uninsured/Underinsured motorist insurance of potential claim
- Monitor medical issues with client
- Order medical records
- Order medical bills
- Order lost income documentation
- Analyze medical bills and records for accurate understanding of injuries
- Identify issues of healthcare plan reimbursement and subrogation
- Help resolve healthcare plan reimbursement issues
- Evaluate case strengths and weaknesses
- Determine case value range, with client's input and approval
- Prepare demand letter for insurance company, with necessary exhibits
- Negotiate claim value with insurance company representatives
- Prepare lawsuit Complaint (If the case has not settled)
- Review Defendant's Answer
- Prepare Disclosure Statements
- Analyze Defendant Disclosure Statement
- Prepare and answer Interrogatories
- Prepare and answer Requests for Admissions
- Prepare and answer Requests for Production of Documents
- Research and draft needed Motions to the Court
- Prepare client for Deposition
- Defend the client Deposition
- Hire medical expert witnesses
- Hire other needed expert witnesses, such as accident reconstructionists
- Take opposing party Depositions
- Prepare Offer of Judgment
- Hold jury research focus groups
- Develop trial presentation
- Prepare trial notebooks and exhibits
- Hold the trial or arbitration
- Respond to post-trial procedures
Clearly, some of these steps are fairly simple (ordering the police report), while others are quite complex (conducting jury focus groups). With our injured clients, we want to allow them to focus on the healing process, and leave this list to us.