**Mendez & Associates Client Letter**

Date: August 21

Dear Rosa,

The court ruled on August 20, and I want to explain what it means.

**Your two questions**

*Did we win?* You won an important part, not the whole case. The court decided the van driver was negligent and caused the crash, and the defense may not blame you for the collision. Those points are settled and will not be retried.

*Do you still have to see the defense doctor?* Yes. The court ordered an independent medical examination on **September 10 at 9:00 a.m.** You must attend and answer questions cooperatively. If anything seems outside proper scope, tell me and I will raise it with the court — but do not skip or reschedule on your own.

**What is still disputed**

A jury must still decide whether the crash caused your shoulder surgery and how much money you receive. The defense does not currently dispute $145,000 in medical bills and lost wages. The surgery adds $120,000 in claimed bills plus pain and future limitations, and we must prove the crash caused each item.

**The $210,000 offer (expires September 18)**

If you reject it and the final judgment is $210,000 or less, you must pay the defendant's post-offer taxable costs, roughly **$18,000–$35,000**, out of your recovery. This rule does **not** make you pay the defendant's attorney fees. I cannot predict a verdict, so this is a real risk we must weigh together.

**What you must do**

1. **By August 28 — sign the provider authorization** for your prior shoulder treatment records (attached; sign and return today if possible). If the records are not produced by that date, the court will exclude them, which could hurt our ability to explain your shoulder history.
2. **Do not delete or change anything.** Keep your recovery photographs, posts, texts, and messages exactly as they are. Deleting them can be treated as destroying evidence and can seriously damage your case. You may stop posting new content, and please set accounts to private.
3. **Attend the September 10 examination**, on time, with photo ID.

**Key dates**

- Aug. 28 — records deadline
- Sept. 10 — medical examination
- Sept. 12 — your surgeon's causation report
- **Sept. 15 — our meeting** to review that report and decide on the offer before it expires Sept. 18
- Oct. 1 — pretrial conference
- Oct. 19 — trial begins

The surgeon's report is the strongest evidence linking your surgery to the crash, so we will not decide about the offer until we read it.

Call me with any questions.

Sincerely,
Counsel for Rosa Mendez