Why Personal Injury Intake Matters More Than Ever
Personal injury firms handle high volumes of inquiries, often under tight timelines. Critical details get missed when the intake process is rushed or inconsistent. That can lead to bad signups, poor attorney-client relationships, or lost revenue.
Strong personal injury intake systems and processes help you:
- Evaluate case strengths and legal issues efficiently
- Standardize documentation and data collection
- Reduce administrative overhead
- Improve conversion and client satisfaction
- Set the stage for a successful claim
From solo practitioners to high-volume litigation shops with many team members, intake optimization for law firms is a competitive necessity—not a luxury.
What Happens During Personal Injury Client Intake?
The personal injury intake process begins before any medical treatment occurs. The goal is to quickly assess important information, such as the incident, injury severity, liability, and available insurance coverage. This helps attorneys determine if a case is worth pursuing—and how to best allocate resources.
Pre-Sign Stage: Is This a Case You Should Take?
Key Responsibilities:
- Receive and log initial inquiry details
- Conduct conflict checks
- Evaluate the case based on incident facts, potential damages, and insurance limits
- Send and track client agreements, HIPAA forms, and authorizations
- If unsigned, trigger automated follow-ups (chase sequences)
Firms using EvenUp can streamline these tasks through integrations with case management systems, such as Litify and SmartAdvocate. These systems, when paired with EvenUp’s AI tools, allow for real-time updates, structured case data, and visibility into next steps.
What Information Should You Gather During the Personal Injury Intake Process?
A successful personal injury intake process starts with comprehensive data collection. The more accurate and complete your intake information, the better positioned your firm is to evaluate the case, initiate treatment tracking, and accelerate case workup. Intake optimization for law firms begins here—with consistent, detailed legal client intake.
Here’s what your intake team should collect upfront:
1. Client Identification and Contact Information
Start with the basics to establish client identity and enable ongoing communication:
- Full legal name, date of birth, and Social Security number
- Driver’s license number and state of issue
- Current and previous addresses
- Preferred method and time of contact (call, text, email)
- Emergency contact details
2. Incident Details
Capture a full, timely account of the incident:
- Date, time, and location of the accident
- Weather and lighting conditions
- Road or environmental hazards
- Detailed client description of what happened
- Whether police were called, and if a report was filed
- Any photos or videos from the scene
To prompt detailed responses, use structured intake forms that include prompts for pain points (e.g., “Where did you feel the impact?”), secondary collisions, and defendant statements.
3. Injury and Medical Information
Injuries drive case value. Get a clear, chronological picture:
- Immediate symptoms and diagnosed injuries
- First point of medical contact (e.g., ER, urgent care, PCP)
- Treatment received at the scene and in the days following
- Current treatment plan and scheduled appointments
- Pre-existing conditions that may complicate the claim
- Names and contact info for treating providers
EvenUp’s Case Companion can help your team summarize and verify medical complaints, reducing errors and improving intake accuracy.
4. Witness Information
Witnesses can be the deciding factor in liability disputes:
- Names and contact details of anyone who saw or heard the accident
- Notes about their perspective or comments made at the scene
- Whether any third parties took photos or videos
- Security camera availability nearby
Make sure your legal client intake forms flag the presence of witnesses and prompt your team to follow up.
5. Insurance Information
Intake teams should gather all policy data relevant to coverage and liability:
- Auto and health insurance provider names
- Policy numbers and group IDs
- Known policy limits (BI, UM/UIM, PIP)
- Defendant’s insurance information
- Any letters received from insurers
- Whether claims have already been filed or offers extended
EvenUp supports structured tables for logging insurance data, including links to policies, claim numbers, and supporting documentation.
6. Client Legal History
Some clients may have prior claims that could affect case strategy:
- History of personal injury lawsuits or insurance claims
- Bankruptcy filings within the past 7 years
- Current or prior representation by another attorney
- Signed agreements with prior firms or potential liens
Screening for red flags early in the personal injury intake process helps prevent wasted resources and protects firm ROI.
7. Employment and Financial Impact
Establish the economic losses that will factor into your demand package:
- Current employment status, job title, and length of employment
- Lost wages due to the injury (past and projected)
- Use of sick leave, vacation time, or disability benefits
- Out-of-pocket medical expenses
- Transportation, household help, or home modifications
- Any receipts or pay stubs that support these costs
8. Client Authorization and Compliance
Before moving forward, obtain consent to proceed:
- Signed retainer or client agreement
- HIPAA and medical record authorizations
- Permission to contact employers and providers
- Acknowledgement of responsibilities and risks
Digital signature tools like those integrated into case management platforms (e.g., Litify, Filevine, Neos) can streamline this step—improving compliance and speeding up case onboarding.
Optimizing the Intake Stage: From Info Gathering to Strategy Alignment
Once the agreement is signed, intake kicks into high gear. The legal client intake team collects everything needed to prepare the case for treatment tracking and demand drafting.
Core Tasks in the Intake Stage:
- Send a welcome letter and an intake questionnaire
- Gather client ID, SSN, insurance info, photos, and police reports
- Confirm coverage limits (BI, UM/UIM, PIP)
- Draft and send representation letters
- Evaluate whether OPRA or preservation letters are needed
- Organize and verify all documents for accuracy and completeness
EvenUp’s Case Companion™ acts as an AI legal assistant, supporting intake processes by automatically generating structured summaries of client-provided details and creating document tables with links, confirmations, and metadata. This drastically reduces the risk of overlooked files or missing treatment data.
Who Handles Intake? How Support Staff Structures Affect Optimization
Small Law Firms
Paralegals often handle everything—intake, communication, record retrieval, and even demand drafting. Efficiency hinges on workflows and tools that reduce multitasking overload.
Medium-Sized Firms
Support staff may split into case managers (handling intake and records) and paralegals (focused on legal drafting). Intake optimization ensures each role focuses on high-impact tasks.
Large Firms
Expect specialized departments for intake, operations, and admin. Intake optimization requires syncing tasks across functions and systems—ideally through a platform like EvenUp that connects every piece.
Common Intake Challenges (and How AI Solves Them)
Missed Red Flags or Bad Signups
EvenUp’s AI can surface case insights early—flagging soft-tissue injuries, questionable liability, or policy limit issues so firms avoid low-value or high-risk signups.
Incomplete Documentation
AI-assisted tools identify and request missing intake documents automatically. They also help organize materials so attorneys and case managers can focus on case-building, not file-chasing.
Poor Medical Treatment Tracking
Treatment gaps weaken claims. EvenUp’s platform helps identify missing appointments, flags gaps, and supports tools like MedChrons™ to create detailed medical timelines for use in demand letters.
Connecting Intake to Downstream Case Value
Deciding whether to move forward with a case isn’t just about injuries—it’s about outcomes. That’s why EvenUp enables you to:
Thorough intake documentation fuels downstream products like Express Demands™, helping your team issue high-quality, timely demands backed by verified records.
Future-Proofing the Personal Injury Intake Process
Personal injury intake is where case quality begins. Intake optimization for law firms can mean the difference between a dismissed claim and a six-figure settlement.
EvenUp’s AI-enabled solutions support every type of law firm. The platform empowers your intake team, centralizing case data and helping attorneys make smarter early decisions.
Schedule a call today and see why forward-thinking firms trust EvenUp to streamline case workup from day one.