Medical records are the backbone of every personal injury case, yet they are often the slowest and most expensive part of the process. Traditionally, attorneys and clients expect record requests to take 30 to 45 days, creating costly bottlenecks that stall cases. By creating an in-house records department and putting proactive systems in place, we reduced our average turnaround time to just 15 days while significantly lowering the cost of retrieval.
In the personal injury community, the word “gaps” usually brings to mind gaps in treatment. What is rarely discussed is the gap that occurs in the process itself, specifically the time cases spend stuck in demand preparation. That time is critical. The longer a file sits waiting for records, the more leverage an insurance company has to argue that the client’s injuries were not as serious as claimed. Even worse, this waiting period puts attorneys at risk if a client loses patience and decides to switch firms. Under most attorney client contracts, if a demand has not yet been sent, the original attorney may only recover case expenses or a small hourly rate, not a share of the settlement that was just on the horizon.
Delays in record retrieval do not just stall cases, they create risk.
To address this challenge, we built an internal medical records department dedicated to reducing delays and controlling costs. Instead of relying on outside vendors, our team tracks requests in real time, maintains direct communication with providers, and closes gaps in the process before they cause problems. By managing records internally, we eliminated unnecessary expenses and brought greater consistency to one of the most unpredictable parts of case preparation.
Records retrieval is more than paperwork. It is a crucial step that shapes both the pace and the value of a case. By creating an in-house system, we transformed one of the biggest bottlenecks into a point of strength. The result is stronger cases, faster settlements, and attorneys who are better protected at every stage of representation.
This project highlights how building an internal medical records department reduced turnaround times and costs while improving case outcomes. By replacing outside vendors with proactive systems and direct provider communication, records that once took 30 to 45 days were obtained in just 15 days on average. This efficiency helped prevent costly delays, improved demand preparation timelines, and protected both case value and attorney fees.