Jill Miller, Paralegal and Case Manager in Bend
You’ll always know where things stand, and you’ll hear it from the people actually building your case.
Our team lives and works in Bend, and you’ll hear from us directly.
When you call Precision Litigation Northwest, there’s a good chance I’m the one who answers. For many of our clients I’m the first person they talk to after the hardest day of their lives, and I never forget that. I listen, I explain what comes next, and I make sure you know you’re not walking this road alone. I’m a former Certified Nursing Assistant, so I understand medical records and treatment from the inside, and I know what it means to be hurt and need someone in your corner. I hold a bachelor’s degree in paralegal studies and I’m an Oregon notary public.
Behind the scenes, I’m the steady hand that keeps your case moving: the medical records and bills, the timeline of your recovery, the settlement demand that tells your story, and the liens and settlement statement at the end, so every dollar is accounted for before it reaches you. If your case goes to trial, I’m right there with you, and no one goes through that alone here. Emmanuel and I have been married for more than twenty years, with three daughters, a wonderful son-in-law and a hobby farm full of pets with names. We keep the firm small on purpose. Here, you’re not a case number. You’re family.
Your first week working with Jill
After the first call, Jill is the person who turns your case into a working file. She will ask for a short list of things: your auto insurance card or declarations page, the police report number, photographs, the names of every clinic and doctor you have seen since the injury, your employer’s contact for wage records, and any letter or voicemail from an insurer. If you do not have all of it, send what you have. She will get the rest.
In that same week she sends letters of representation to every insurer involved, so adjusters call the office instead of you. If it was a crash, she opens the personal injury protection claim on your own policy and gets the PIP application to you with the parts she can fill in already done. She also sets how you want to be reached: phone, text or email, and at what hours.
If the first meeting is at the office on Mount Washington Drive, Jill has the fee agreement and the PIP forms ready to walk through with you. If it is by video, she sends them ahead and goes through them on the call. Bring the declarations page and a list of your providers; she can find the rest. Nothing has to be signed on the spot, and every form is explained before it is.
Months one to three: records, bills and PIP paperwork
Oregon auto policies carry PIP of at least $15,000 in medical benefits for one year from the crash (ORS 742.520 to 742.524), and it pays first, regardless of fault. That is good news, but it comes with paperwork: the PIP application, medical authorizations, wage-loss verification from your employer if you missed work, and provider bills that need to reach the right adjuster. Jill handles the routing. Your job is to send her every bill, statement and explanation of benefits the day it arrives, even if it looks like a duplicate.
She keeps a running ledger of every charge, who paid it and what remains open. When PIP is used up or the year ends, she makes sure providers bill your health insurance rather than you. If a bill lands in collections because an insurer was slow, call her before paying it; most of those can be redirected. The ledger she builds is the foundation of the demand Emmanuel will write later, so accuracy now is money later.
How Jill works with your doctors and clinics
Jill does not direct your treatment; your doctors do. What she does is make sure the record of that treatment is complete and reaches the file. She sends signed authorizations to each provider, requests records and itemized bills at intervals, and follows up when a clinic is slow. If you are referred to a specialist, a physical therapist or imaging, tell her, so the new provider is added to the list before the first visit rather than discovered months later.
She also watches for gaps. If you stop treating for six weeks, the insurer will argue you were healed. If money or scheduling is the reason, tell Jill; there are often ways to keep care going through PIP or health insurance that you may not know about. Keep your own notes about pain, missed activities and sleep. Those become part of the claim, and memory fades faster than anyone expects.
Liens: what they are and why Jill tracks them from day one
A lien is a claim on your settlement by someone who paid for your care. Your PIP carrier is repaid from the recovery. Your health insurer may have a right to reimbursement for what it paid after PIP ran out. A hospital or a provider that treated you without payment may file a lien of its own. None of that is a surprise if it is tracked from the start; all of it is a problem if it appears at the end.
Jill logs each lienholder, the amount claimed and the basis for it, and requests updated figures before any demand goes out. When the case resolves, the firm asks lienholders to reduce their claims where the law and the facts support it, and the final accounting shows you every dollar: gross recovery, fee, costs, liens paid and what you receive. You will see that sheet before you sign anything.
From your side, three habits keep the liens from becoming a problem. Do not pay a provider out of pocket without telling Jill, because a bill that should have gone to PIP or health insurance is hard to recover later. Keep receipts for anything you do pay, including prescriptions and mileage to appointments, so they go into the demand. And send her any letter from a health insurer asking about your injury; that letter is usually the start of a reimbursement claim she needs to log.
The middle months: updates, deadlines and the demand package
The quiet stretch of a case is when most people wonder whether anything is happening. Jill’s answer is a regular update, even when the news is simply that you are still treating and the records are coming in. When something changes, such as a new adjuster, a records dispute or a settlement conference date, you hear it from her the day she knows it.
Behind the updates she keeps the calendar. The two-year filing deadline (ORS 12.110), the 180-day tort claim notice if a public body is involved (ORS 30.275), the one-year PIP window, and every date the insurer sets are on it. Nothing depends on someone remembering, and nothing on your case is left to the insurer’s calendar or to chance.
When your doctors can describe your recovery, she assembles the demand package: records, bills, the lien ledger, wage documentation, photographs and your own account. Emmanuel writes the demand on top of that. A package that is complete on the first send is one the adjuster cannot stall by asking for more, and it is the point at which the months of paperwork turn into a number.
If the case is filed, what changes for you
Filing suit adds paperwork on a schedule set by the court. The other side will send written questions and requests for documents, and your answers are due by a deadline. Jill drafts those responses from the file, reviews them with you and collects the documents you need to add. She schedules your deposition around your treatment and your work, arranges the mediation date and location, and makes sure any medical examination the insurer requests is handled on terms the firm has approved.
Emmanuel prepares you for testimony; Jill prepares everything around it. If the case is set for trial in Deschutes, Crook or Jefferson County, she coordinates the witnesses, the exhibits and your own schedule for the days you will be in court. You will never receive a court date you did not already know about, and you will never walk into a room without knowing what happens in it.
What to send Jill, and when
- Right away: insurance cards or declarations pages, the police report number, photographs, names of every provider, employer contact, and any insurer letters or voicemails.
- As they arrive: every medical bill, explanation of benefits, collection notice, pharmacy receipt and mileage to appointments.
- When it changes: a new doctor or referral, a change in work status, a move or new phone number, a new adjuster contacting you.
- Never without calling first: a recorded statement, a signed release, a medical authorization from the other side’s insurer, or a check.
Email is fine, a photograph of a document is fine, and dropping it at the office on Mount Washington Drive is fine. What matters is that it reaches her while it is current. Call 541-948-8830 and ask for Jill with any question about paperwork; that is what the role is for, and no question about your own case is too small.
Frequently asked questions
What does a paralegal and case manager do on my injury case?
Jill gathers your medical records and bills, tracks every lien, keeps the deadlines, prepares the documents the insurer and the court require and keeps the file trial-ready. She also keeps you informed: when something happens on your case, you hear about it from her or from Emmanuel, not from a voicemail box.
Is Jill a lawyer?
No. Jill is the firm’s paralegal and case manager and co-owns Precision Litigation Northwest with Emmanuel. Legal advice and every decision about your case come from Emmanuel, your attorney. Jill is the person who makes the case move day to day and who can tell you where things stand.
How do I reach Jill about my case?
Call 541-948-8830 and ask for Jill. If she is with another client, she will call you back. You can also reply to any email she sends about your case. For a new matter, start with the same number and the free consultation, and Jill will be your point of contact from the first day.
Will I hear from Jill or from my attorney?
Both. Emmanuel handles the legal decisions, the negotiation and any court appearance, and he is reachable directly. Jill handles the day to day: records, scheduling, updates and your questions about paperwork. Between the two of them you will always know where your case stands, which is a promise the firm keeps deliberately.