The Crucial Role of the Claims Professional in Lower Court Cases
Claims professionals are essential to successful litigation, especially in Virginia General District Court. The information relayed by the claims professional often becomes the majority of reliable information provided to the attorney prior to trial. This means the claims professional acts as fact investigator, message-bearer, middle-person, and decision maker when it comes to obtaining and relaying relevant information for the trial attorney.
The importance of this dynamic role is highlighted further in Virginia General District Court because of the lack of discovery obligations for the Plaintiff. The Plaintiff in these cases is not obligated, without court Order, to provide anything beyond the information contained in the Warrant in Debt. As a result, Defendants face trial by ambush, armed with only information gathered by the claims professional and [maybe] a cooperative client.
In contrast, Maryland District Courts require that Plaintiffs provide answers to interrogatories, produce limited documents if requested by interrogatory, and, upon stipulation or leave of Court, make themselves available for deposition. This by no means lessens the importance of a claims professional’s assistance, but it does allow the claims professional and attorney to work in tandem, softening the demanding nature of working in an insurance claims role.
Regardless of where, or how, a case is litigated, the necessity of the claims professional is apparent. That being said, as long as Virginia General District Courts remain a minefield for Defendants blinded by lack of discovery, the claims professional remains central to success as the one who makes factually substantiated legal arguments possible.