FIRST LETTER TO CLIENT PLAINTIFF IN PERSONAL INJURY CASE

BOC FORM 2.16

Re: (case name)

I want to give you a general outline of what to expect as we process your claim for your injuries and damages. Not all claims are handled the same and the following remarks are intended as general comments only.

OBTAINING INFORMATION

It is important in the early stages of a claim of this type to obtain as much information as possible. This is done by your answering our questions and also by our investigation with other people. We schedule interviews with witnesses, and various other sources are used to obtain a good factual basis for our advice to you.

You must help us. We will ask you many questions. To do a good job we need a lot of information. Sometimes it may seem to you like we want to talk a lot to you, or that we are spending a lot of time digging out small details about the accident. Please understand that from our experience we have found this foundation helps us to deal with the defendant's insurer from a position of strength for you.

EVALUATION OF CLAIM

At the same time that we investigate the facts, we do legal research to explore various theories that can be used to recover the maximum amount for you. After the detailed investigation has been completed and legal research done, we evaluate the claim. It generally takes at least a month to six weeks to gather all of the information necessary for a general evaluation of the claim. Other factors may cause additional delays.

STARTING A LAWSUIT

After the facts and the law have been investigated, we recommend action, and we recommend to you whether a lawsuit should be filed. In the case of a claim such as yours, it is necessary to start a lawsuit to get the maximum recovery for you. However, even if a suit is necessary it is usually possible to settle the case without actually going to trial.

We file a suit by serving on the defendant a complaint, which are papers advising the defendant of the nature of your claims and the general nature of the injuries received by you. The defendant takes these papers and turns them over to his insurance company. The insurance company gives them to their attorneys. The insurance company attorneys then file an answer with us, your attorneys.

DISCOVERY

A lawsuit makes the insurance company assign the case to a claims supervisor who has authority to settle the case for fair amounts. The claims supervisor usually asks an adjuster to gather facts, or else asks the insurance company attorneys to use discovery procedures. Both sides have the right to use discovery procedures. Those procedures frequently include the following:

1. Interrogatories are written questions which any attorney may submit to the other side and which have to be answered in writing under oath.

2. Depositions are the statements given by a party in the presence of attorneys for all parties and before a court reporter who takes down the answers to the questions.

3. Medical examination is an examination by a medical doctor selected by an attorney for the party.

Settlement is always possible at any time during any of these procedures. It is simply a question of when the insurance company feels that delay will no longer benefit them and you feel that the amount being offered is the amount you want to accept.

SETTLEMENT

The great majority of cases are settled, but they are usually settled only within days before the trial date, because the insurance company usually thinks they have nothing to lose by waiting as long as they can to pay money. We have to prepare your case, however, just as though it were going to be tried, so we are dealing from a point of maximum strength in settlement negotiations. We want to get a fair settlement for you. That can only be obtained from an insurance company when they are impressed with the strength and details of what we show them in your case.

In the event the case cannot be settled at a fair figure, we, with your permission, proceed to trial. Before we go to trial, the two or three weeks leading up to the trial date are spent in detailed review and preparation of the case. All of the witnesses are re-interviewed, physical exhibits prepared, additional conferences are held with the doctors, the medical bills and other expenses are brought up to date, and detailed conferences are held with you. The law is researched and prepared for the Judge's use. What is expected of you at any trial will be explained to you in detail well in advance of going to the courthouse.

PREPARATION

If you are expected to appear at any time when the insurer's lawyers ask you questions, we will tell you about it in advance. We will prepare you and inform you so that you will feel relaxed and confident about the procedure or questions. All that you have to do is spend the necessary time we ask you to spend with us for your preparation.

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

As your lawyers, we must have all of the facts in order to properly represent you. Any information given to us by you is strictly confidential.

OUR SERVICES

Our philosophy is that you have retained not just one lawyer, but an entire firm, including both professional and lay personnel who have different talents and training that they can offer to help in this situation.

If other people from this office call you or are working on this matter, it simply means that we are going through a procedure or are involved in a particular area of fact investigation or legal research, or medical evaluation where someone in the firm with available time or with another specialty can add the maximum effort to the proper handling.

AMOUNT OF RECOVERY

It is impossible for us to guarantee how much money, if any, you will receive. No one can guarantee what a judge or jury will do. Any case is subject to winning or losing. We will be in a better position to discuss this aspect of the case with you after our legal and factual research has been completed and we are in a position to make an evaluation of the whole matter. As your attorneys, we consider it our primary duty to obtain for you that sum of money which will fairly and justly compensate you for your injuries. We will try our best to get every dollar that you are fairly and legally entitled to receive.

KEEPING YOU INFORMED

We will real efforts to keep you advised regarding your legal matters. Among other things , from time to time we may send you copies of correspondence and legal papers we send to other people. You will not need to keep these and can throw them away if you wish to do so. they are just for your information, to keep you informed.