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How One PI firm Saves Big Using Filevine and Arctrieval

The process of obtaining medical records is expensive and cumbersome for many law firms.

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Year Founded: 2018

Location: Dallas, TX

Number of Staff: 10+

Practice Areas: Personal Injury

Charles Bennett is the principal attorney and founder of Bennett Injury Law. He is also one of the principal trial consultants for Trial Structure, LLC, preparing opening statements for trial lawyers.

bennettlegal.com

The Challenge

The process of obtaining medical records is expensive and cumbersome for many law firms.

We talk all the time about how much of a nightmare medical records are,” said Charles Bennett. For the lawyers of his firm, tracking down medical records represented a major bottleneck in their work. Getting the right permissions, pestering healthcare facilities to release them, and jumping through bureaucratic hoops required the sustained attention of staff and lawyers.

To simplify the process, the firm contracted with a record retrieval company. But even after giving the company over $36,000 a year, they still faced major delays. Even worse, firm members often had to track down the records themselves. In the meantime, postponed and missing records made it harder to build the strongest case for their clients.

To simplify their case management process, the firm implemented Filevine. They also switched to Arctrieval to manage their medical record retrieval process. The result was a rapid improvement in workplace efficiency.

Cut expenses for medical records requests by 90% and labor requirements by 80%.

Deployed technology that does the work of two full-time staff members.

Began receiving medical records “within days, as opposed to months.”

The Solution

Filevine and Arctrieval brought significant savings to the medical request process.

“Filevine has really changed the way we do business.”

To improve the efficiency of each step of the case lifecycle, the firm needed a case management system. Prior to Filevine, the firm tried several options. “They did not do anything for us,” said Bennett. “I never used them at all.”

In contrast, “we use Filevine constantly, everyday,” Bennett said. “It’s something we can tell the staff to use, and they’re okay using it, because it makes sense.”

The firm leveraged additional benefits when they switched to Arctrieval to manage their records requests.

“I thought this is impossible and there's no way it's going to work. But if it does, it'll change the way we do business. I was willing to take a chance, and I'm glad I did, because it has.”

Top 7 ways Bennett Injury Law benefits from Filevine and Arctrieval:

  1. The software does the work of 2 full-time staff

    “Filevine, I've always said, does the work of at least one employee, so that I don't have to pay an extra employee. And it makes all of us more organized and more functional. Arctrieval has also had that effect. And then combining it with Filevine in a system that's organized and easy to use has a trickle-down effect. So everybody's life is easier, and everybody's job is incredible."

  2. The cost of medical records retrieval fell by 90%

    While other companies demanded tens of thousands of dollars to manage medical records, Arctrieval charges a small monthly fee for unlimited requests.

  3. Labor required for medical requests decreased 80%

    Getting the right requests used to demand one full-time employee and significant intervention from lawyers as well. “Now the employee who handles all the medical records is bored, and I’m fine with that. She’s caught up on all our cases, we have all the records, we’re not hearing from defense counsel anymore, and everything’s working. And so we’re finding more things for our employee to do, because it’s so simple for her.

  4. The firm receives records more quickly

    We're getting hospital records within days, as opposed to months and months.”

  5. Full integration keeps cases organized

    Filevine and Arctrieval are fully integrated to enhance efficiency. “The records come in and they go automatically in the right place, they’re already organized. That’s another thing that has been a huge benefit,” said Charles.

  6. Lawyers face fewer distractions

    “The best part about this is I'm not involved in it very much. And I used to be involved in the medical records ordering a lot, and it was a huge headache for me. And now I'm not involved in it at all. It's not a problem"

  7. Clients experience better outcomes

    Not only do clients get charged less for the medical records retrieval process, they also see improved case outcomes.

    “We get things done quicker, so we can get their cases rolled through quicker. We can certainly get a better understanding of what their case is, because we're getting the medical records in faster. I can see problems with medical care quicker, so that I can see when someone needs to follow up with a doctor or get a second opinion. And all of that's because I actually have the information with me, and we can look at it and value the case better.”

For personal injury firms, the process of requesting, organizing, and analyzing medical records can be a nightmare. But as the experience of Bennett Law Firm shows, the right technology and services—working in harmony—can generate efficiency, move cases forward faster, and free legal professionals to fight more effectively for their clients.

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