Dear Rosa,

You asked whether we won and whether you must see the defense doctor. We won an important part, but not the whole case. You must attend the defense examination on September 10.

On August 20, the court ruled that the van driver was negligent, that his negligence caused the collision, and that the defendant cannot argue that you caused the collision. Those issues are final and will not be retried. The jury will still decide whether your later shoulder surgery was caused by the collision and the amount of all damages. We must still show which medical treatment, wage loss, pain, and limitations were caused by the crash.

The defendant has made a formal settlement offer of $210,000. It expires September 18. If you reject it and your final judgment is $210,000 or less, you must pay the defendant’s post-offer taxable costs, estimated at $18,000 to $35,000. Those are court-related costs. The offer does not make you responsible for the defendant’s attorney fees.

Please sign the provider authorization today and send it to me. The court will exclude your prior shoulder treatment records unless they are produced by August 28. We will request them immediately, but we need your signed authorization to meet that deadline.

You must attend the independent medical examination on September 10 at 9:00 a.m. The court ordered you to attend. If you have a conflict, call me immediately so we can address it with the court.

Do not delete, edit, or alter your recovery photographs, messages, or other social-media content. Keep all case-related documents, texts, and posts. Your case is pending, so relevant records must be preserved. Deleting them could create serious legal problems.

Your surgeon’s causation report is due September 12. It is important because it may help show whether the shoulder surgery was caused by the collision. On September 15, we will meet with you to review that report and decide how to respond to the settlement offer. Please attend that meeting.

The pretrial conference is October 1. Trial begins October 19.

Please call me with any questions.

Sincerely,
[Attorney]