An MVA case qualification checklist your team can use

Define the checklist around the firm’s decision

The checklist is an operational record for law-firm buyers and intake teams. It helps organize information and responsibility; it does not determine legal eligibility, fault, deadlines, or case value. Your firm’s designated reviewers set the criteria and make the acceptance decision.

Before evaluating a supplier, mark each field as required at delivery, allowed to remain pending, or reserved for firm review. Specify what happens when a required answer is unavailable. This is more useful than an unexplained pass/fail label attached to the entire matter.

Record the evidence status of each material answer

A completed field tells you that someone entered information. It does not tell you whether that information was checked. Use consistent statuses and preserve both the answer and its source.

Use a field structure that supports follow-up

Each material field should have a value, evidence status, source reference, last-updated date, delivery requirement, next action, and owner. Use a stable matter identifier to connect intake records, packet updates, and review decisions.

When information changes, preserve the earlier answer and record the update. This lets a reviewer understand whether the supplier omitted a required field at delivery or whether new information arrived later. Keep access and record sharing within the firm’s approved process.

• Matter ID and criteria version: identify the record and the rules that applied.
• Value and evidence status: distinguish the answer from the basis for it.
• Source and update date: make the information traceable.
• Requirement and next action: show whether the field blocks delivery or requires review.
• Owner and due date: identify who will resolve the open item.

Incident and geographic information

Record the reported incident date, location, accident category, participants, and a concise account. Note the source of each answer and whether an incident report or other relevant document is available, requested, received, or reviewed.

Use the firm-approved geographic and case-type profile to flag matters for review. Do not infer a legal deadline or responsibility from an incident date or a caller’s account. A conflict between sources should remain visible until the designated reviewer resolves it.

Buyer-use example: the intake record gives a city but omits the state required by the delivery profile. Mark the required location field incomplete, assign the follow-up owner, and preserve that status at handoff. Do not fill the gap from an assumption about the caller’s phone number.

Injury and treatment information

Capture the person’s reported injuries, treatment status, reported start date, and outstanding questions relevant to the firm’s approved profile. Identify what supporting information is available and whether anyone has reviewed it. Record only the information needed for the approved intake process.

A statement that treatment began is different from a reviewed document confirming a specific appointment. If one date is checked, describe that narrow finding. Do not mark the entire treatment history verified or infer severity, causation, or future value from that field.

Buyer-use example: a caller reports treatment, but supporting information required by the proposed handoff is missing. The record should show the reported answer, missing item, assigned owner, and whether the firm permits delivery while that item remains pending.

Insurance and representation information

Record reported carrier or policy information, the source, and the status of any supporting documents. Separate “not yet provided” from a confirmed negative finding. Your firm’s reviewers determine what additional information they need and what conclusions, if any, can be drawn.

Ask for current or prior representation information required by the firm’s process. Preserve the reported answer and any relevant document status. Route questions about agreements or representation to the firm’s designated reviewer rather than having the checklist resolve them automatically.

Buyer-use example: the person is unsure whether a prior agreement remains active. Mark representation status unresolved and assign firm review. Do not convert uncertainty into “unrepresented” to make the record appear to fit the profile.

Agreement and signature fields

For a signed-case arrangement, record the intended firm, agreement identity, version, signature status, signing date when available, and the location of the agreed signing record. Confirm which fields and copies the supplier is expected to provide.

A signature status should not automatically set acceptance to yes. The firm still needs its designated review process, including any unresolved information and checks it requires. Keep the signing record connected to the same unique matter ID as the intake information.

Buyer-use example: a packet is labeled signed but does not identify the agreement version your firm requested. Flag the discrepancy and obtain the required information. Delivery acknowledgment can be recorded while the acceptance decision remains pending.

Handoff and exception fields

Include delivery time, recipient, agreed contact details, packet contents, missing items, and the next responsible person. Distinguish receipt acknowledgment from completion of review. If the packet is updated, record what changed and when it was provided.

Connect any delivery exception to the agreed profile and commercial terms. A field omission, duplicate, or out-of-profile matter should have a specific reason and supporting reference. Track credit requests separately from the firm’s acceptance decision; one does not automatically determine the other.

Before work begins, confirm the review window and the information needed to raise an exception. This makes feedback concrete and keeps operational records aligned with the agreed buying process.

Record accepted, declined, or pending

Give the designated reviewer a clear place to record the decision, date, reason, and next action. Accepted, declined, and pending should be mutually exclusive review statuses at a given reporting date. Preserve signature status and evidence fields alongside them.

Use specific pending reasons such as “awaiting required location information” or “agreement version under review.” These show what must happen next. A general quality label does not tell the supplier or the intake team how to resolve the matter.

Keep the decision linked to the first-delivery cohort. That allows operations and marketing leaders to reconcile the checklist with cost per accepted case without counting an updated packet as a new matter.

Turn the framework into an agreed buying profile

Have the firm’s reviewer approve the fields, evidence requirements, exclusions, and unresolved-item rules. Walk through an illustrative packet with the people who will receive and review it. Confirm which information the proposed supplier scope includes and which your team must obtain.

Date the approved profile and name the person who can authorize revisions. If the profile changes, record when the new version takes effect. Compare earlier deliveries against the criteria that applied to them, then use specific feedback to improve the next handoff.

Questions law firms ask