Pre-Litigation

Pre-litigation, often shortened to pre-lit, is the phase of a personal injury case that runs from intake through the point of either settlement or filing suit. The vast majority of personal injury cases resolve in pre-litigation through negotiation with the at-fault party's insurance carrier, never requiring a complaint to be filed.

Pre-litigation work has its own rhythm. The case manager opens the file, signs the client, coordinates treatment with medical providers, monitors the medical record, tracks pharmacy spend on lien, and prepares the demand letter as treatment concludes. The firm then negotiates with the adjuster, lands at a number or fails to, and either settles or files suit.

Pharmacy lien programs are operationally most valuable in pre-litigation. The client has lost income, may have lost coverage, and needs medications for the duration of treatment, which can run six to eighteen months. A lien pharmacy like CreoRx funds that medication need across 67,000+ pharmacies, and the pharmacy lien data feeds directly into the demand letter as evidence of damages.

For case managers, pre-litigation is largely a question of keeping the file moving: treatment completion, record collection, lien tracking, demand preparation. A clean pharmacy lien partner reduces the case manager's workload and shortens the pre-litigation timeline.