A demand package is a collection of information, documents, and photos that outlines a theory of liability and damages in a personal injury claim. It’s usually addressed to an insurance adjuster but often shared with superiors and counsel.
Good demands are thorough and well organized. Great demands present a theory of damages specific to the injury victim.
A demand package typically includes:
Factual overview of the incident
Theory of liability
Injuries and treatments
Medical treatment and expenses
Demand letter for specific compensation, including non-economic and economic damages
Crafting a robust, comprehensive demand package is critical to successful settlement negotiations. While this process requires a lot of work, the thoroughness of your package can impact the results you achieve for your client.
Here are six steps to create a comprehensive, high-quality demand package for your client.
Step 1: Gather facts from the police report
In most motor vehicle incidents, the police create a report about the incident. While typically inadmissible, police reports inform the theory of liability in a case. If the officer says the other driver caused the incident, you can use the report to help settle the claim outside of litigation/pre-suit. Insurance companies usually give considerable weight to police reports.
The most important parts of the police report that you want to expose in your demand package include:
Details of the crash mechanics
Diagram of the incident
Narrative or codes relating to the severity of the property damage
Narrative or codes relating to the severity of the observed injuries
Contributing factor(s) to the incident, including drug/alcohol use
Citations issued to the at-fault party
Step 2: Create a clear medical summary
Compiling, sorting, and summarizing medical records and bills can help build a strong case for fair compensation. These documents provide evidence of injuries, treatments, and costs. By organizing this information, it becomes easier to demonstrate the extent of damages and justify the need for compensation. It also makes the adjuster’s job easier.
Below are a few guidelines for building a persuasive and easy-to-read medical summary:
Duration: The number of visits and length of treatment at a provider can show how severe a client's injury is. It can also provide a full medical story.
Treatments: Provide an overview of the treatments received by your clients from each provider. Track how their life is affected based on the injury.
Diagnostics: List all the ICD codes in your client’s medical records. While it's a lot of work, claims management software uses these data points as value drivers in setting settlement bands.
Future cost estimates: Severe injuries often need future treatments. To validate future medical expenses, request cost estimates from treating providers. This may be especially persuasive in receiving compensation for future medical expenses. Without some medical support, adjusters may write off future care as speculative.
Medical opinion for causality: The opinion of treating medical providers about the cause of the injuries assists in addressing any causality challenges.
Pre-existing injuries: If your client had pre-existing injuries, explain what those injuries were, the symptomatology of the injuries before the incident, and how the incident aggravated or exacerbated these injuries.
Step 3: Develop robust economic loss calculations
Many elements of economic loss may be claimed, most importantly, out-of-pocket expenses and loss of earnings. To present loss of earnings calculations, construct a complete model that considers:
Client’s baseline earnings: What were your client’s provable earnings before the incident?
Client’s fringe benefits: What other benefits did your client receive before the incident and how much were they worth?
Client’s earnings growth: What was the growth rate in your client’s year-over-year earnings before the incident occurred?
Loss Duration: What is the expected duration of lost wages?
Mitigation: During the loss period, can any earnings reasonably be expected despite the incident?
Discounting: What is the net present value of the lost earnings?
Proof of unemployability: Is your client’s unemployability supported? For larger claims, it's often necessary to get the medical documentation that supports the client’s inability to return to work, as well as letters from the client’s employer.
Step 4: Support your non-economic damages claim
To build your claim for non-economic damages, start by looking at the jury instructions in your area, given that states vary on how an attorney may present a client’s non-economic damages, including past and future pain and suffering. Identify all the elements of the non-economic damages for which you can seek compensation.
Prepare and share a pre-demand questionnaire with your client regularly. This can help to ensure that you capture all of your client’s ongoing complaints, along with the impact your client’s injuries have (and may continue to have) on their life. This information illustrates the specific loss of enjoyment and/or “duties under duress” that your client endured, and provides a way to document future impacts which your client may encounter in the foreseeable future.
There are three ways to estimate pain & suffering:
Per diem analysis: Use details of your client’s injuries and enduring complaints to prepare a per diem analysis that quantifies your client’s non-economic damages. The per diem analysis should include an estimate of your client’s total pain and suffering with reference to an appropriate hourly rate and a reasonable value for each hour that your client endured pain and suffering as a proximate result of a tortfeasor’s conduct.
Verdict analysis: Conduct a comparable verdict search for claims involving the same or similar circumstances within the relevant jurisdiction, and present a representative verdict(s) that clearly demonstrates the threshold that a similarly-situated jury would likely award your client should the tortfeasor refuse to reasonably settle your client’s claim. Include in your presentation how the jury from the representative verdict(s) allocated non-economic damages to justify your estimation of the value of your client’s pain and suffering.
Lump sum: Not all states are created equal when it comes to how or by what means or method non-economic damages may be quantified and/or presented to a jury. For example, 24 states expressly allow an attorney to argue that a client is entitled to a sum certain/lump sum amount of non-economic damages while simultaneously permitting an attorney to suggest that the per diem method (i.e., a fixed monetary amount for a defined unit of time) is an appropriate non-economic damages calculus. So, when in doubt, verify your state’s stance on the interplay between lump sum and per diem arguments.
Step 5: Organize the exhibits
With so many medical records, bills, and other supporting documentation in the demand package, it's essential to make it easy for you, your staff, and the claim adjuster to navigate the exhibits. Develop a master index of each exhibit.
Having a structured, organized system will help claim adjusters review and extract the relevant information they need to support your claim.
While it's crucial to present a strong case backed by evidence, it's equally important to humanize the plaintiff in your demand package. By humanizing the plaintiff, you transform them from a claimant into a relatable individual with dreams, setbacks, and a compelling story.
This personalized approach not only enhances the adjuster's understanding but also cultivates empathy, laying the groundwork for fair and just negotiations. Here are a few ways to paint a vivid picture of your client throughout the demand letter:
Describe life before the incident: Offer a glimpse into the plaintiff's life before the incident. Describe their passions, hobbies, and daily routines. Showcasing these adds depth to their narrative, emphasizing what's at stake.
Detail daily struggles: Detail the challenges the plaintiff faces in their daily life post-injury. Whether it's the difficulty of simple tasks they once took for granted or the emotional toll of their limitations, focus on painting a vivid picture of their journey.
Maintain empathy and respect: Use language that evokes empathy and compassion throughout the demand package. Avoid language that objectifies or minimizes their experiences. Demonstrating genuine concern for the plaintiff's well-being can capture the emotional gravity of the plaintiff's experience and foster a more positive and cooperative relationship with the insurance adjuster. It can also help the adjuster build empathy.
By compiling a demand package that demonstrates the strength of your case, in addition to the true losses suffered by the plaintiff, you will increase the likelihood of a favorable settlement.
At EvenUp, our team—which includes former defense counsel, paralegals, and case managers—works with leading personal injury firms to prepare demand packages that include pain and suffering narratives that help depict the plaintiff before and post-incident, save time (5+ hours per case), and settle cases for higher amounts (30% or more).
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