People hear "we may need to file" and picture a courtroom. In practice the great majority of filed cases still resolve before trial. What filing changes is not the ending; it is the leverage.

Before and after

Before suit, everything is voluntary. You ask for the driver's employment records, the maintenance log, the phone data. They can decline, delay, or simply not reply, and there is no consequence.

After suit, discovery applies. Documents must be produced. Witnesses must sit for deposition and answer under oath. Deadlines are set by the court rather than by whoever is least motivated. A defence that survived on silence stops surviving.

What it costs

Time, mostly. Filing fees, records and expert opinions are advanced by us and recouped from the recovery, not from you. Contingency percentages commonly step up once suit is filed — ours goes from a third to forty per cent — and that step is agreed in writing before it happens, never after.

What it asks of you

Honesty about your history, availability for a deposition, and patience. A filed case in San Francisco typically takes twelve to twenty months. That is a real cost and it is worth weighing against a certain offer today.

The deadline nobody mentions

California generally gives two years from the injury, and as little as six months where a public entity is involved. Those clocks run whether or not anyone is negotiating with you.