The Deficiency Backlog Is a Case Inventory Risk
MDL PFS deficiency notices from defense counsel typically require a response within 30 days — gathering medical records, obtaining client signatures, and submitting a cure that satisfies the deficiency standard. At 800 cases, the work isn't legally complex, but it's operationally intensive: each case requires tracking down specific records, communicating with the right client, and logging the status of every open request. Cases that miss the cure deadline are candidates for dismissal motions. The firm's exposure isn't just the fee on those cases — it's the liability exposure from inadequate monitoring of a known deadline.
Automated Tracking, Collection, and Escalation in Relativity
An AI Labor Company agent categorizes every PFS deficiency by type — missing records, incomplete signature pages, inadequate medical documentation — and routes document-collection requests to the appropriate client or provider. Status is tracked in a real-time Relativity dashboard that shows every open case, its cure deadline, and its current response status. As the 30-day window closes on cases with outstanding items, the agent escalates to the responsible associate with a summary of what's still needed and how many days remain. Cases approaching dismissal risk get priority treatment. Logikcull and iManage handle the document management layer. The backlog is worked systematically without adding headcount to the MDL team.
The Business Case: Preserve Case Inventory, Protect Client Relationships
The revenue mechanism here is case preservation. Cases dismissed for PFS deficiency failures are lost contingency fees — and each one represents a client who trusted the firm with their claim. Teams managing 800 deficiency cases manually often find that tracking failures, not legal issues, are the proximate cause of dismissal. An agent that handles 65–85% of the tracking and coordination work ensures the responsible associate sees only the cases that need a human decision, not every status update in a 4,000-claimant docket. The agent is typically operational within eight weeks — well within the MDL management window for most large dockets.
Can the agent send outreach directly to clients and medical providers, or does it only track and flag for associate action?
The agent can send templated document-collection requests to clients and providers using your firm's standard communication workflow. For non-routine client communication — settlement discussions, adverse developments — it flags for associate handling rather than acting directly.
How does the Relativity dashboard integrate with existing MDL case management workflows?
The dashboard is built within your existing Relativity matter, so it doesn't require a separate platform or data migration. Associates already working in Relativity see the deficiency tracking layer in the same environment.