Every provider in this market promises the same thing: qualified cases, signed and ready to work. The phrase is easy to say and hard to check, because most firms only learn what “ready to work” means after the first case lands and something is missing from the file.
So let us slow it down. When you buy MVA retainers, you are not buying a name or a promise. You are buying a case file another team built for you: qualified against agreed criteria, signed on your firm’s own retainer agreement, and documented well enough that your attorneys can open it and start working. Here is what should be in that file, field by field, and what your team does with each piece on day one.
The signed retainer agreement, on your paperwork
This is the document the whole purchase stands on. The client has signed your firm’s own retainer agreement, not the provider’s paperwork and not a generic intake form: your fee structure, your terms, your firm’s name as the attorney of record.
On day one, someone on your team reads it. Not skims it, reads it. Check that the signature is complete, the client details match the rest of the file, and the agreement is the current version your firm uses.
Intake notes: the story of the case
Good intake notes read like a short story with no wasted lines: who called, what happened, and what the client said about the crash, the injuries, and the treatment so far. This is where an experienced intake team earns its money, because clients rarely tell their story in neat categories.
Your team uses these notes to prepare the first real conversation. A welcome call where your staff already know the basics feels completely different to a client than a call starting with twenty questions they already answered once. The notes are also an early warning system: if the story in them does not match the other fields, raise it while the replacement window is still open.
Accident details and fault position
Date, location, how the crash happened, and who was at fault. The qualification standard is that the accident happened within the last year and the client was not at fault, and the file should show both plainly.
On day one, your team checks the accident date against filing deadlines and confirms the fault position holds together with the notes. A rear end collision with the other driver cited is a clean file. A story that shifts between the notes and the summary is not, and week one is when you want to catch it.
Injury and treatment status
The file should state what injuries were reported and where treatment stands: treated at an emergency department, follow up started, or at minimum an appointment scheduled. Treatment started or scheduled is part of the qualification criteria, because a signed case with no treatment and no plan means months of chasing.
For your team, this field drives the first week’s work: what records to order, which providers to contact, and whether treatment is on track or already stalling.
Insurance information for both sides
Coverage decides what a case can actually pay, so the file should carry the at-fault driver’s carrier and policy details, plus the client’s own coverage where it applies, including uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. Insurance verified before delivery is one of the agreed criteria, and “verified” should mean details captured, not a box ticked.
Day one is when your team confirms those details independently: run the coverage check, open the claim if needed, and get the claim number into your system. If the policy in the file does not match what the carrier has, the first days are exactly when you want to find out.
Confirmation of no prior attorney
One line in the file, and one of the most important: the client does not already have an attorney. A case signed by a client who is already represented is not a case, it is a dispute waiting to happen.
Your conflict check covers part of this, but the provider’s confirmation should be in writing before your team invests hours. A client with prior counsel is a delivery defect, and it belongs inside the replacement conversation, not on your firm’s problem list.
The consent record
Behind the case there should be a record of how the client was contacted and the consent they gave: the disclosure they saw, and the date and time it was captured. It rarely comes up in sales calls, and it matters more every year.
Ask for it before you need it. A provider who can produce the consent record for any case they delivered runs a process you can defend. A provider who goes quiet when you ask is telling you something.
What a delivered file looks like, assembled
Here is the shape of one complete file, with illustrative details and the real fields a delivered case should carry.
- Client: Sample client, Texas. English or Spanish speaking. Cell phone number verified.
- Accident: Rear end collision, six weeks ago. Client was the driver, stopped in traffic. Police responded and cited the other driver.
- Fault: Not at fault. No prior attorney. No prior settlement.
- Injuries and treatment: Neck and lower back injuries reported at intake. Treated at an emergency department, follow up treatment started.
- Insurance: At-fault driver’s carrier and policy details captured. Client’s own coverage noted.
- Agreement: Your firm’s retainer agreement, signed by the client before delivery.
- Consent: Marketing consent record held on file for the case.
When a case arrives in that shape, your first call is a welcome call, not a sales call. That difference, plus exclusivity, is most of what you are paying for: every signed case goes to one firm only, never shared or resold.
Your first day checklist: the first 24 hours
A complete file only pays off if your team moves on it while everything is fresh. Here is a simple first day routine a firm can run on every delivered case.
- Read the signed agreement in full and confirm the signature, the client details, and the agreement version all match the rest of the file.
- Run your conflict check and confirm the no prior attorney note before anyone invests real hours.
- Make the welcome call the same day. Confirm the phone number works, introduce the team, and tell the client what happens next.
- Check the accident date against your filing deadlines and calendar anything time sensitive.
- Verify the insurance details with the carrier, open the claim if it is not open yet, and record the claim number.
- Order the first medical records based on the treatment status in the file, and note any treatment gap that needs attention.
- Confirm where the consent record for the case is held, and file that note with the case.
- Calendar day 14 from delivery. If anything in the file fails the agreed criteria, you want the mismatch raised well inside the replacement window, not after it closes.
None of this takes long on a clean file. That is the point: day one should feel like opening a case, not redoing intake.
Red flags that a delivered file is incomplete
Not every gap is a deal breaker, but patterns matter. Treat these as warnings when a file lands.
- Insurance listed as a carrier name with no policy details, even though verified coverage was part of the criteria.
- Intake notes that read like copied form answers, with no real account of how the crash happened.
- Treatment marked as started, with no provider named and no appointment anywhere in the file.
- A signature page where the client details do not match the details in the rest of the file.
- A fault description so vague that you cannot tell who did what.
- No consent record available when you ask for the one behind that specific case.
- Contact details that were clearly never tested, with a disconnected number on the first call.
One gap can be an honest mistake. Three or four usually mean the provider’s process is thinner than its pitch. Either way, raise it early: the 14 day replacement window is only useful if you use it.
A note on what the file cannot promise
A complete file is not a guaranteed outcome. Cases settle for less than hoped, clients stop treating, facts develop. What it does guarantee is that the qualification work was done and documented before your firm paid, and that if a case fails the agreed criteria, or the client turns out to be unreachable, you have 14 days to say so and get it replaced. There are no contracts holding you in either.
Questions to ask about the file before you buy
Before you pay for a first case, ask a provider to describe its file, not its marketing. These questions do most of the work.
- Can I see a sample delivered file, with personal details removed, so I know exactly what arrives?
- Does the client sign on my firm’s own retainer agreement, and who checks the signature before delivery?
- Which criteria do you verify before signing, and what proof of each check lands in the file?
- If a field turns out to be wrong after delivery, what exactly happens, and how long do I have to raise it?
- Can you pull the consent record for one specific case if I ask, and how fast?
- Are some cases Spanish speaking, and if so, are the intake notes written so my team can work them right away?
- Is the price a flat fee per case, and is it ever tied to a percentage of the recovery?
A real intake operation answers these without hedging, because the answers are just a description of its daily work.
Judge the file, not the pitch
If you are comparing providers, stop comparing promises and start comparing files. Ask each one to walk you through a delivered case field by field, the way this post just did, and ask what happens when a field turns out to be wrong. The answers separate real intake operations from resellers quickly.
Our signed retainers start from $1,950 per case, and if you want to see the full breakdown of how a signed case is put together and delivered to your firm, it is all laid out before you spend anything. Firms that would rather run their own intake can compare MVA leads instead. Either way, get current pricing for your state first, since state and case criteria set the real number.
