Client intake for disability and workers' compensation.

The person is unwell, often in pain, and has just been told by letter that they are fine. The intake has to be short, doable by voice, and patient. The facts that matter are the letter and its printed date, who wrote it, what the person's doctors have said, and what the person has already told the insurer or the board. Those statements are often the reason for the denial, and the lawyer needs them on day one. The employer is a party in almost every one of these matters, and the firm may act for it.

• Which benefit is at issue: a long-term disability policy through work, a workers' compensation claim, a government disability benefit, or an accommodation at work.
• The condition, in the person's words, and how it affects their work and daily life.
• The treatment: doctors, specialists, therapy, and whether it is continuing.
• The employer, the person's job, and the date last worked.
• The insurer or board, the claim number, and the adjuster or case manager by name.
• The decision letter: who wrote it, what it says, its date, and the reconsideration or appeal date printed on it.
• For a workplace injury: when and how it happened, whether it was reported, and to whom.
• What the person has said to the insurer or board, in writing or by phone, and when.
• Which medical reports the person holds, and which the insurer has.
• Whether benefits have stopped, and the date they stopped.

• The employer, by legal name, and the person's manager.
• The insurer and the adjuster or case manager.
• The board or agency, and its case manager, for the file.
• The employer's own insurer or plan administrator, where different.
• Any representative, paralegal or lawyer who has already acted.
• A union, where the person is a member.

A reconsideration or appeal date printed on a decision letter, a date on which benefits stop, a return-to-work directive with a date, or a medical examination the insurer has scheduled. The intake records each date as printed and flags the matter to the lawyer. It never tells the person whether the window is open, whether to attend the examination, or whether to return to work.

• It never says whether the person is disabled, entitled to a benefit, or likely to win an appeal.
• It never says whether a reconsideration or appeal date has passed.
• It never advises on what to tell the insurer, the board or an examining doctor.
• It never estimates the benefit or the back pay.
• It never contacts the insurer, the board or the employer.

The machine takes the statement. The lawyer takes the case.