Personal injury case workflow: intake to settlement, step by step

A personal injury case moves through the same phases at most plaintiff firms: intake, treatment, records, demand, negotiation, and, when the case doesn't settle, litigation through discovery, mediation and trial, then settlement and disbursement. What separates firms is how reliably each phase gets done and handed off, especially at volume. This guide lays out a California workflow, with the rules and deadlines that sit under each phase.

This is general information, not legal advice. Deadlines depend on the facts of each case.

The phases at a glance

Intake

The goal of intake is a signed client and a file that won't hide a deadline.

• Screen for liability, injury, coverage and conflicts.
• Sign a written contingency fee contract. Business and Professions Code 6147 requires the contract to state the contingency rate, how costs affect the fee and the client's recovery, and that the fee is not set by law and is negotiable (or, for cases under section 6146, that its rates are maximums). The client gets a signed duplicate. A contract that doesn't comply is voidable by the client, and the attorney is then limited to a reasonable fee. See retainer agreement and contingency fee.
• Calendar the statute from the date of loss: two years for most injury claims (CCP 335.1), and six months for a claim against a public entity (Gov. Code 911.2). The statute of limitations guide has the exceptions.
• Get signed authorizations for records. See HIPAA authorization.
• Notify the carriers: a letter of representation to the at-fault party's carrier and the client's own, including any med-pay and UM or UIM coverage.
• Preserve evidence: photos, the vehicle, video, witness names.
• Start the lien list: health insurance, Medicare, Medi-Cal, any provider treating on a lien.

Treatment

While the client treats, the case manager's job is to keep the care documented and continuous.

• Regular client check-ins, logged to the case.
• Every new provider added to the provider list the day the firm hears about it.
• Treatment gaps caught as they form, with the reason recorded.
• Letters of protection tracked as liens.
• If Medi-Cal paid for care, the department notified within 30 days after a claim or action is filed (W&I 14124.73).
• If the client is on Medicare, the case reported to Medicare's recovery contractor early, so the conditional payment figures are ready when the case settles.

The case manager is often the person the client talks to most. A short, regular update keeps the client in care and cuts the calls asking where the case stands.

Records

When treatment ends, or reaches a stable point, collect the complete record.

• One request per provider, with records and itemized bills, under Evidence Code 1158 or through the client under Health and Safety Code 123110. The records request guide covers both.
• Follow-up when the statutory period passes.
• A check for providers mentioned in the records but never requested.
• A medical chronology, cited to the page.
• Specials totaled from the billing, with billed and paid amounts separated.

Demand

• Confirm the limits, liability and the lienholders.
• Draft the demand from the chronology and the specials. A policy-limits demand is covered in the demand letter guide.
• If it is a pre-suit time-limited demand on an auto, homeowner or commercial premises policy, meet CCP 999.1: the label, at least 30 days from transmission (33 by mail), a clear offer within limits including liens, a complete release, the loss details, all known injuries and supporting proof. See the CCP 999 guide.
• Send it to the insurer's designated address or the assigned adjuster (CCP 999.2), and calendar the expiration.

Negotiation and litigation

Negotiation starts when the carrier answers the demand.

• Log every offer and counteroffer with its date and any deadline.
• Answer carrier requests for information in writing.
• Keep the statute date in view; negotiation doesn't stop the clock.
• Update lien figures so the client's net can be shown at each offer.
• Get the client's settlement authority in writing, and update it when the numbers change.
• Decide on a date, well before the statute, by which the case is either settled or prepared for filing.

If the case doesn't settle, file before the statute runs. From there, court rules set the deadlines: service, responsive pleadings, discovery, expert exchange, mediation and trial dates. Records after filing are usually obtained by deposition subpoena, with notice to the consumer. Discovery responses, depositions and expert work all draw on the same chronology and records index built before the demand, which is one reason to build them well the first time. Many cases resolve at mediation, where a current lien list and a projected net for the client let the attorney evaluate offers on the spot.

Settlement and disbursement

• Release. Review the release for scope, lien language and Medicare provisions.
• Minors. A compromise of a minor's claim is not binding until a superior court approves it (Probate Code 3500). See minor's compromise.
• Liens. Get final figures in writing: Medicare's final demand, the Medi-Cal lien (no settlement is final until the department has notice and a chance to perfect its lien, W&I 14124.76), the hospital, the health plan and the providers. The lien reductions guide covers each.
• Settlement statement. Gross settlement, fee, costs, each lien and the client's net, signed by the client. See settlement statement.
• Disbursement from the firm's client trust account once the funds clear.

Running the workflow in PlaintiffStack

PlaintiffStack's personal injury cases ship with these phases, from intake to settlement, and with pages for treatment, providers, records, demand and coverage, liens and litigation. The case tools follow the work: the missing records report lists records, bills and referrals not yet in the file; the treatment chronology builds a dated, cited chronology of care; and the demand letter tool drafts a policy-limits demand that cites the page each fact came from. Each shows an estimated cost before it runs, and a person reviews everything before it is sent.

Morning checks flag offers and demands about to expire, record requests untouched for three weeks, and gaps forming in treatment. Liens carry asserted and negotiated amounts, and the settlement statement computes the fee at 33.33 percent, costs, liens and the client's net. Agents read searchable PDFs, Word and text files, not scans. Trust accounting stays in the firm's existing system. See the product tour and pricing.