Insurance defense paralegals working in an insurance defense litigation firm form part of the larger team comprising attorneys and secretaries working on various cases. Their work is quite fast-paced with little time to spare amidst complex and challenging legal questions. Often, paralegals are entrusted with case management that involves keeping track of documents, deadlines and calendar entries. He/she will have the responsibility to track the time when the insurance company has to respond to the plaintiff’s petition. Paralegals will have to ensure that the insurance company and the insured entity are willing to produce the relevant records for close scrutiny and review.
Among the documents paralegals need to retrieve and evaluate are medical records, case files and manufacturer’s warnings. These have to be reviewed and summarized. For that matter, paralegals need extensive knowledge of medical terminology and medical procedures. Insurance defense litigation paralegals are typically required to prepare a chronology of medical records of the claimant. This is where they can make use of professional medical record review services. The reliable services provided by a medical review company include medical record organization, medical case chronology, and medical case history and summary. Such services lighten the workload of paralegals, giving them more time to focus on trial preparation and other important tasks.
Paralegals are also in many cases entrusted with the duty of identifying expert witnesses. For this paralegals have to peruse medical journals and depend on online resources. Often, they will have to interview these people to determine whether they can be chosen as expert witnesses. There are medical review companies that arrange expert witnesses if required. Reliable medical review firms can also help with trial preparation by providing services such as identifying and assembling trial exhibits.
