pi-demand-summary

# Personal Injury Demand Summary

Synthesizes case materials into a persuasive demand summary for settlement negotiations or internal case evaluation.

## Prerequisites

Gather before starting:

- **Case file**: police/incident reports, witness statements, photos, correspondence
- **Medical records**: ER through current treatment, imaging, surgical notes, discharge summaries
- **Billing records**: itemized medical bills from all providers
- **Wage records**: pay stubs, tax returns, employer verification letters
- **Expert reports** (if available): life care plans, vocational assessments, accident reconstruction
- **Insurance info**: known policy limits, prior adjuster correspondence

## Quick Start

Structure the demand summary in five sections:

1. **Executive Overview** — incident snapshot and demand amount
2. **Liability Analysis** — duty, breach, evidence, comparative fault
3. **Injury Documentation** — chronological treatment narrative
4. **Damages Itemization** — economic + non-economic breakdown
5. **Settlement Positioning** — verdicts, risk assessment, terms

## Core Workflow

### 1. Executive Overview

Include: incident date/location, parties, case type (MVA / premises / product defect / med mal), one-sentence liability theory, total demand amount.

### 2. Liability Analysis

- [ ] Identify defendant's specific acts/omissions constituting breach
- [ ] Cite supporting evidence: police reports, eyewitness accounts, expert opinions
- [ ] Reference applicable legal standards (traffic laws, building codes, statutes)
- [ ] Address and rebut comparative fault arguments
- [ ] State liability apportionment conclusion

### 3. Injury Documentation (Chronological)

Organize by treatment phase:

- **Emergency/acute**: date, facility, complaints, diagnoses, imaging
- **Surgical**: procedures, dates, operative findings, hardware
- **Post-op/rehab**: PT/OT frequency/duration, progress, functional benchmarks
- **Ongoing/maintenance**: current treatment, medications, remaining complaints
- **Prognosis**: MMI status, permanent impairments, future treatment needs

Distinguish **objective findings** (imaging, labs, surgical notes) from **subjective complaints**. For pre-existing conditions, delineate aggravation vs. new injury causation.

### 4. Damages Itemization

**Economic damages** — itemize each with source and amount:

- Past medical expenses (by provider, date, amount)
- Future medical expenses (life care plan or physician projection)
- Past lost wages (employment records, pay period, rate)
- Future lost earning capacity (vocational expert or wage analysis)
- Out-of-pocket (transportation, home mods, Rx, assistive devices)

**Non-economic damages** — support each with specific evidence:

- Pain and suffering (treatment intensity, duration, medication)
- Emotional distress (mental health treatment, documented impact)
- Loss of enjoyment of life (activities curtailed, before/after)
- Permanent disfigurement/disability (functional limitations, rating)
- Loss of consortium if applicable (spousal testimony, relationship impact)

Present totals: economic subtotal + non-economic subtotal = total demand.

### 5. Settlement Positioning

- [ ] Cite comparable jury verdicts in the jurisdiction
- [ ] Note policy limits considerations
- [ ] Assess litigation risk (strengths and vulnerabilities)
- [ ] Evaluate causation strength
- [ ] Estimate comparative fault exposure percentage
- [ ] Set response deadline and conditions (confidentiality, structured settlement, liens)

## Pitfalls and Checks

- **Every factual assertion must trace to a specific document** — cite by document name/date
- **Flag documentation gaps** needing additional discovery
- **Do not fabricate medical causation** — rely on treating physician opinions only
- **Note jurisdiction-specific damage caps** (e.g., non-economic caps) if applicable
- Mark unverified legal citations with `[VERIFY]`
- Maintain persuasive but professional tone — specific human impact, not emotional appeals
- Present damages credibly with negotiation room