Time is a very precious commodity; that is why finding order in your work are very important. Although injury cases have different nuances and facts, you can straighten the process by adequately organizing your injury case using an easy checklist.
A good checklist is very helpful since it can be placed in your client’s file, so that every task can be confirmed off as done or completed. That way, when you take a quick look at the file, you can see the task or work that has been completed without checking the file from start to finish.
Applying an efficient process will make your cases a lot more organized, and will make every task a lot easier as your cases progress. While most lawyers may have their choices on how to coordinate or organize their affairs, here are some steps that can help you get started with your injury checklist.
Table of Contents
Prepare your client for their first meeting
Prior to their first meeting, your client needs to be instructed to bring all the essential documents that are related to their personal injury case like the police report, bills, medical records, declaration page of the auto policy, insurance information, repair estimates, correspondence, wage statements, rental car charges, notes and pictures of the accident (or incident).
It will save a lot of unnecessary lag time waiting for clients to forward the necessary information and details after the meeting. For example, if you are handling injury claims in Dublin, every document that you get is in line with the personal injury laws and regulations of Dublin. Double-check the documents to ensure eligibility.
Meet with your client, sign a retainer agreement or fill out an authorization letter and injury questionnaire
The first face-to-face meeting with the client is significant to establish a good rapport, explain the process involved in the case, set their expectations and get vital information about their claim. The first thing you need to do is to explain to the clients the terms and condition of the Retainer Agreement, as well as answer all their questions in regards to their case.
It is imperative to explain properly, how the fees are being calculated and the contingency over hourly fees. You need to set an expectation – there may be details of the case that can cause difficult facts, challenges, liens or liability issues that can cause hold up in the disbursement of the settlement fund or the situation in general.
If the client is aware of the problems and prepares appropriately at the outset, it makes a lot easier to deal with the issues later on in the case. Make sure you have a form that contains relevant questions about the personal injury claim like the client’s background, the incident, employment, injuries, lost wages, medical treatment, property damages, automobile and medical insurance, police reports, responsible party details, witnesses, lien noticesand subsequent and prior accidents.
To know more what retainer fee is, check out https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/retainer-fee.asp.
During the meeting, make sure that you walk through the critical questions and write all the answers to these questions. Drawing a diagram of the accident or incident will also be a big help in understanding the situation and what actually happened. All of the information is very important when it comes to an understanding of the case, its weaknesses and strengths, and it will make sure that you prepare a detailed and clear demand letter.
Not only that, you need to ensure that the client sign all the necessary authorization letters like insurance, wage loss, or HIPPA-compliant authorization to get essential documents like medical records. Getting all these paper works signed during your first meeting with the client will allow you to request relevant records without any delay. To further organize the process, you need to keep a folder that contains forms like authorizations and questionnaires so that you can get them and go when you are meeting with the client.
Get the copies of the insurance card
You need to make sure that you can get copies of all health or auto insurance cards like Medicaid or Medicare. Not only that, you will need them if the case will reach discovery, but these cards will be beneficial to have in case there are problems with the coverage or when you submit a medical bill to the insurance company.
To know more about HIPPA, visit this site.
Parting thoughts
Personal injury claims can have a lot of important moving parts and keeping track of them can be very challenging. With a lot of cases, it can quickly become very difficult to get organized. But if you have a smooth process in place that you religiously follow, it will go a long way to get your credibility established, make sure your clients will get the satisfaction that they are looking for, and enable a successful case resolution.