Now that we know the significance of a demand letter, let us take a quick look at what makes up the perfect demand letter in a personal injury case. Medsum has worked with many attorneys from the USA, drafting demand letters so that they can handle their personal injury cases with ease.
Ensure you cover the details accurately
The best demand letter is the one that has all the details. Neither the victim nor the respondent must need to look for any details outside of the demand letter. Leaving anything out or missing detail can mean the difference between a hefty settlement or a skimpy settlement.
As we mentioned before, insurance companies refer to this document to base their settlements. The details you must have on your demand letter include :
- Name of the victim/insured along with contact information
- The date of the accident
- Parties involved or responsible for the accident
- A detailed description of the events leading up to and surrounding the accident
- Insurance policy details
- Details of economic damages arranged category wise with justifications
- Details of non-economic damages
- Attach proofs for all claims you make
Understand the accident and medical details
Of all the details, the most important details in the demand letter are the accident and medical information. This forms the basis for your defense and must be as accurate as possible.
For the demand letter to be effective, it has to be little more than just stating facts. Understanding the medical details, the course of treatment, the prognosis, and how the accident has impacted the victim is important too. If you are an attorney dealing with this, it is natural to feel lost in the medical jargon.
Thankfully, you can work with professionals in the medical summary and medico-legal industry to interpret and summarize medical records. Medsum has done this for many legal firms to make their jobs easier. Connect with us here, and our team would be happy to assist
Structure the demand letter the right way
We have the content, and we know what to emphasize for maximum impact. So what next?
Organized data becomes valuable information, so the next step in drafting the most effective demand letter is to structure the letter.
Insurance companies and law firms read hundreds of demand letters as part of their job. If you want them to sit up and take notice of your issue and help you out, the structure must be perfect.
The right structure for a demand letter is
- Introduction that contains the preliminary information of the case, including but not limited to the victim, the purpose of the demand letter, and why you are sending it to them.
- A detailed section on the details of the damages your client has suffered including economic damages, emotional damages, estimated cost of recovery with a note on future expenses, lost income, and so on.
- Post that, the demand letter must include the proof for all the claims – the responsibility of the respondent, medical bills, income and opportunity loss, and an estimate of future expenses
- The concluding section summarizes what the claim is, and why it must be paid immediately.
Drafting the perfect demand letter is a sure-shot way of ensuring that your client gets the justice they deserve swiftly. But handling all this day in and day out can be a little overwhelming for legal firms and can even run up overhead costs
So what can you do about it?
Well, you can connect with Medsum and outsource the documentation to a team that is well-versed in the medical and legal world. Our team handles all medico-legal requirements such as medical summaries, medical chronology, demand letters, and so on.
Connect with us today for a hassle-free experience.