The audit · document 02 of 07
Process map — the case opening, traced
How a new car-accident case becomes a working file today — every time measured, nothing estimated from memory.
How this was traced
Median across the ten cases: 5 h 30 m of hands-on work; a working file 3 days after signature. The full timing grid is in the appendix.
The three most recent cases replayed end to end from the case-system activity log, with the person who ran each step narrating; seven more timed from their log timestamps; off-system steps (phone calls, paper notes) walked through live with the person who does them.
Where the 5 h 30 m goes
One typical case, as one bar. Each block is a step’s share of a person’s working time — the two red blocks alone are almost half the day.
The eight steps
Owner, hands-on time, what it waits on, and where it breaks — step by step.
Lead arrives
Call, web form, or referral. The front desk takes notes on an intake sheet. After-hours callers reach voicemail and are called back the next morning.
Where it breaks: the notes are free text — every later step re-reads and re-types them.
Intake interview
The questionnaire by phone: crash date and place, vehicles, injuries, treatment to date, both insurance carriers, policy numbers, witnesses, photos. Answers go onto the intake sheet, then into an email to the case manager.
Where it breaks: missing answers surface days later, at step 05, as a second round of client calls.
Conflict check & retainer
Names checked against the case system; the fee agreement sent for e-signature; a reminder call if it sits unsigned overnight.
Where it breaks: no automatic reminder — an unsigned retainer waits until someone notices.
Case entered in the system
Client, adverse driver, both carriers, and adjusters entered into the case system — typed again from the intake sheet and the email thread.
Where it breaks: triple entry is where typos enter — a transposed policy number cost case H a rejected claim setup.
The research
The crash report ordered from the state portal. Both carriers confirmed; the PIP carrier identified; the policy-limits disclosure request prepared; the 14-day PIP treatment window checked against the crash date.
Where it breaks: ordering the report is nobody's named job; the PIP window keeps running while it waits.
The document pack
Drafted from templates: letters of representation to each carrier, the PIP application, HIPAA authorizations, a letter of protection to the treating provider, the client welcome packet. Reviewed by the assigned attorney before anything goes out.
Where it breaks: eight documents queue behind one attorney's calendar; the drafting itself is identical case to case.
Provider referral
The treating-provider referral is picked from memory and arranged by phone. No maintained list exists.
Where it breaks: the list lives in one person's head — and it goes stale silently.
Claims filed, case assigned
Claims opened with each carrier and claim numbers logged back. The case handed to the pre-suit team; attorney and case manager assigned. Every deadline goes on the calendar: the PIP window, the statute date, report follow-ups.
Where it breaks: the last step inherits every earlier delay — and the deadlines are computed by hand.
Anatomy of the worst case — 9 days
Case I, reconstructed from the log. Not one big failure — five small waits, stacked.
- Day 0Evening call reaches voicemail. Waits overnight.
- Day 1Callback and intake interview. Client can't find the policy card — second call scheduled.
- Day 2Policy details collected. Retainer sent 16:40. Sits unsigned two days — no reminder.
- Day 4Signature lands. Case entered in the system. Crash report assumed ordered — it wasn't.
- Day 6Report actually ordered. Document pack drafted. Attorney in deposition — review queued.
- Day 8Attorney reviews and corrects one letter.
- Day 9Letters out, claims opened, case assigned. Hands-on work across nine days: about 6 hours. Waiting: everything else.
The ten cases, measured
Hands-on time and elapsed days per case. Full per-step grid in the appendix.
| Case | Hands-on | Signature → working file | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 5 h 05 m | 2 days | clean run |
| B | 5 h 20 m | 2 days | clean run |
| C | 5 h 25 m | 3 days | report arrived day 4; letters went out first |
| D | 6 h 10 m | 3 days | second intake call — missing policy card |
| E | 5 h 30 m | 3 days | clean run |
| F | 5 h 35 m | 3 days | after-hours lead; overnight wait |
| G | 5 h 45 m | 4 days | crash report unordered 4 days |
| H | 6 h 00 m | 4 days | transposed policy number; claim re-filed |
| I | 6 h 05 m | 9 days | the stacked waits above |
| J | 5 h 30 m | 5 days | attorney review queued behind trial week |
| Median | 5 h 30 m | 3 days |
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