Proper preparation for the trial of an insurance case begins not when an attorney is retained, but when the insurance company has first notice of the loss. An insurance professional should simultaneously investigate the claim and preserve and collect evidence for trial. It is too late to begin trial preparation when the case is marked ready by the court. Precious evidence in the form of witnesses, documents, records, and products is not available years after the incident. Proper trial preparation should be triggered the moment a company learns of a potential lawsuit, and it continues throughout discovery and trial.
On Your Mark…
Before a summons and complaint are filed, a company receiving notice of a potential lawsuit should immediately hire an investigator to go to the scene of the accident or loss. He must be prepared to take photographs, interview witnesses, and secure evidence (at some insurance companies, investigators always are on-call for on-the-scene investigations). It is almost impossible to find and interview witnesses three years after an accident when the case is marked trial ready.
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