Pre-litigation
Pre-litigation occurs prior to the initiation of the litigation process. During the “pre-litigation” phase of your file, your attorney will obtain your medical records and bills in anticipation of preparing and forwarding a demand letter to the insurance carrier for the at-fault party (who caused the crash). This process usually ends about the time your doctors feel you are at Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI).
Demand letter
This is a letter sent by the Plaintiff to an adjuster in which the Plaintiff’s attorney outlines the facts of the case starting with liability (who caused the crash), who was injured, what injuries they suffered and what are the economic and non-economic damages. This “demand letter” will also generally have attached a copy of the Plaintiff’s medical records for the adjuster to review. A “demand letter” sent in the pre-litigation phase of your case may also contain certain terms or conditions. The reason for these terms and conditions are so that your attorney can determine whether there is any other coverage involved in the case which you may be entitled to. Since the case is not yet in the litigation phase, the attorney has a limited ability to investigate the case. Thus, under Florida Law, an attorney can ask the person who caused the injury for certain information, such as; if they were in the course and scope of their employment at the time; whether they were driving someone else’s vehicle; whether they were doing things incidental to their work or another person’s work, all of which could lead to additional parties having insurance policies that would cover the Plaintiff’s damages.
Additionally, they could also request that the defendant/tortfeasor insurance carrier provide certain information such as; a copy of the policy and insurance disclosure information.
Declaration of coverage page
This is commonly referred to as “dec page”. A “declaration of coverage page” is simply an official document that is notarized by the insurance carrier where they swear to the actual policy limits in a certain insurance policy. This is done to make sure that the insurance carrier is truthful in what they disclose to the Plaintiff.
Definitions are specific as to Florida Law. Other state statutes may define them differently and different insurance policies may have different definitions.
