Authored by Mason Rashtian | Personal Injury Lawyer, The Mason Law Firm
Dedicated Personal Injury Lawyer in Santa Clarita, Valencia, Canyon Country, Newhall, Saugus, Stevenson Ranch, Castaic, Val Verde, Antelope Valley, Palmdale, Lancaster, the San Fernando Valley, and the Greater Los Angeles Area
For almost a decade before I started representing injured people, I represented the other side. Insurance companies, motorists, truck drivers, bus companies and bus drivers, grocery stores and property owners. I was the attorney the adjuster called when a claim needed defending, and I built entire case strategies around minimizing what the other side would recover.
I bring that up not to brag, but because it changes how I explain a personal injury case to my clients here in Santa Clarita, Valencia, Canyon Country, Saugus, Newhall, and Stevenson Ranch. Most attorneys can tell you what happens at each stage of a case. I can tell you what the insurance company is doing behind the scenes at that exact same stage because I used to be the one doing it.
Call The Mason Law Firm, managed by Santa Clarita Personal Injury Attorney Mason Rashtian, today at 661-506-2992 for a FREE consultation. We serve clients throughout Santa Clarita, Valencia, Newhall, Saugus, Canyon Country, Stevenson Ranch, Castaic, Val Verde and all of Los Angeles County.
Here’s the real timeline, stage by stage.
Stage 1: The Accident and Immediate Treatment
Every case starts the same way, a crash on the 5, a fall in a Valencia Town Center parking lot, a dog bite in a Canyon Country neighborhood, whatever the incident may be. Right after, you may get emergency treatment: an ambulance, the ER, imaging, specialists.
Here’s what I used to look for as defense counsel: gaps. The first thing I’d flag in a defense file was any delay between the accident and the first medical visit. A three-day gap gets written up as “possible pre-existing condition” or “not consistent with a serious injury claim.”
It doesn’t matter if you were trying to be tough or just didn’t think it was a big deal at the time. That gap becomes a talking point against you later. Get evaluated promptly, even if the injury seems minor at first.
Stage 2: Documentation and Choosing How to Treat
Next, you and your attorney work out how treatment gets paid for. Will it be through health insurance, auto MedPay, or a lien basis, where doctors defer payment until the case resolves.
I ask every new client to forward records, bills, photos, and witness information at our very first conversation. Not because I enjoy paperwork, but because I need to see the case exactly the way an adjuster is going to see it.
On the defense side, every file I received came with a “strengths and weaknesses” memo attached before I ever touched it. If I build that same memo for you before the insurance company builds theirs, I know precisely where we’re strong and where we need to shore things up before a demand ever goes out.
Stage 3: The Attorney Takes Over Communications
Once you hire an attorney, we notify the insurance company and the adjuster is no longer allowed to contact you directly. They deal with us from that point forward.
Something that surprises a lot of clients: adjusters aren’t villains. They’re managing 150 to 200 open files at once, and they’re trained to close files as quickly and cheaply as possible.
That was literally my job on the defense side. Every recorded statement, every fast early offer, every “just sign this” release is a tool designed to close your file before your damages are fully known. Understanding that playbook from the inside is the reason I built my practice the way I did.
Stage 4: Treatment Continues And Why We Don’t Rush It
Clients sometimes call me two weeks into their treatment asking for status of settlement negotiations. That short time frame does not allow for treatment to be completed and for us to get a prognosis of our clients’ injuries. Clients need to continue care until they are back to baseline, until they plateau, or until surgery is on the table and needs to be factored into the claim.
This is the single biggest mistake I used to exploit on defense files: cases presented too early. If a demand goes out before treatment wraps up, the defense can argue the injury wasn’t serious enough to warrant more care, or worse, if new treatment surfaces after the case has already settled, there’s nothing left to recover for it.
I won’t let a case leave my office prematurely, because I’ve written the memo arguing against the attorney who did.
Stage 5: Liens, Records, and Building the Demand
Once treatment is finished, we collect every bill and report, and compile liens from health insurance companies, Medi-Cal, or Medicare.
Then we build the demand package, which includes the demand letter, the appropriate medical records, the medical bills, any lost-wage documentation, and supporting photos including photographs of damaged vehicles and injuries.
On defense files, the first thing I read was the demand letter, because a sloppy one told me the plaintiff’s attorney hadn’t done the work and that told me I could offer less. A tight, well-documented demand does the opposite. It tells the adjuster that fighting this file is going to cost more than paying it fairly.
Stage 6: Negotiation And Why 30 to 45 Days Isn’t Stalling
After the demand goes out, expect 30 to 45 days before we hear back. Clients frequently assume they’re being ignored or the insurance company is “delaying”. They’re not. That’s simply how long it takes for claims to move through an adjuster’s queue, and I spent years working inside that queue.
Once the adjuster has had the opportunity to analyze our demand package and the supporting documentation, he or she will then respond to our demand. Once we receive a response, we then negotiate the medical bills with medical providers, the health insurance company, Medi-Cal or Medicare to lower them wherever possible.
As I mentioned before, I have a defense background, having worked for insurance companies. In 2006, founded The Mason Law Firm in my hometown of Santa Clarita to help injury and accident victims. I also serve as a Settlement Officer for the Los Angeles County Superior Court, which puts me in a neutral seat for negotiations.
My experience as a former insurance defense attorney, current personal injury attorney, and as a settlement officer gives me a unique perspective. So, I can usually tell within the first round of numbers where a case is realistically going to land, and I use that insight to push negotiations faster and harder than an attorney who has only ever sat on the plaintiff’s side of the table.
Stage 7: Settlement or Lawsuit
If we land on a number, the insurance company sends a release, we review it, you sign it, and the check gets deposited into our client trust account. Once it clears, everyone gets paid, including the doctors, the firm, and you.
If we can’t get there, we talk about filing suit. I don’t push litigation as a default; I’ve defended enough lawsuits to know they’re slower and more expensive for everyone involved, including you. But I also know exactly what happens to a case once it’s filed, because I used to be the one answering the complaint. That’s not theory for me, it’s ten years of muscle memory.
The Bottom Line
Every stage of a personal injury case looks different once you’ve seen it from the insurance company’s side of the file. I, a Santa Clarita Personal Injury Lawyer, have, and I use that perspective for my clients throughout Santa Clarita, Valencia, and the surrounding communities every single day.
You can also find helpful information on our area-specific pages:
- 👉 Santa Clarita Personal Injury Lawyer: https://www.mrscvlaw.com/santa-clarita-personal-injury-law-office/
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👉 Valencia Personal Injury Lawyer: https://www.mrscvlaw.com/valencia-personal-injury-lawyer/
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👉 Newhall Personal Injury Lawyer: https://www.mrscvlaw.com/newhall-personal-injury-lawyer/
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👉 Saugus Personal Injury Lawyer: https://www.mrscvlaw.com/saugus-personal-injury-lawyer/
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👉 Canyon Country Personal Injury Lawyer: https://www.mrscvlaw.com/canyon-county-personal-injury-attorney/
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👉 Stevenson Ranch Personal Injury Lawyer: https://www.mrscvlaw.com/stevenson-ranch-personal-injury-lawyer/
If you or someone you know is dealing with an injury claim after an accident in the Santa Clarita, Valencia, Saugus, Newhall, Stevenson Ranch, Canyon Country, Castaic, Val Verde, Antelope Valley, Palmdale, Lancaster, or anywhere in Los Angeles County, Ventura County and Kern County, I’m happy to talk through what you’re seeing and what your options look like.
📞 Call 661-506-2992 for a free consultation.
“We Meet Our Clients by Accident!”
and
“We Put Personal in Personal Injury Law.”
Updated September 15, 2026
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The information in this blog post is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this post does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you have been injured, please contact an attorney to discuss the specific facts of your situation.