Mass Tort Intake Data Dictionary: Fields, States, Provenance, and Ownership

A mass tort intake data dictionary gives every operational field a stable name, type, allowed state, provenance rule, correction rule, and accountable human owner. It turns the conceptual intake model into an implementable contract so campaign submissions, evidence, reviews, exceptions, consent, and handoffs remain traceable as criteria and records change.

This companion to the mass tort intake data model supports mass tort intake. It is not legal advice. Authorized firm staff control criteria, engagement, legal conclusions, and matter release.

Dictionary conventions and governance rules

Use lowercase snake_case field names, opaque IDs, timezone-aware ISO 8601 timestamps, and lowercase enum values. An empty string never substitutes for null, unknown, unanswered, not_applicable, or declined.

NIST's Data Governance and Management Profile concept paper describes governance as authority and control over data management. It identifies accuracy, timeliness, completeness, relevance, and consistency as quality factors. This dictionary assigns a system rule and human boundary.

The provenance columns follow the W3C PROV Data Model, which distinguishes entities, activities, agents, derivations, revisions, and responsibility. Relational implementations need durable links among records, activities, and actors.

Claimant fields

Field and type	Allowed state or nullability	Provenance rule	Correction rule	Human owner and boundary
claimant_id UUID	Required, immutable	Generated once at first accepted intake event	Never edited. A confirmed duplicate links through a merge record	Intake operations confirms merges. No automated match may erase an ID
identity_state enum	unverified, possible_duplicate, verified, merged	Each transition cites the matching or review activity	Append a new state event with reason and actor	Identity queue owner resolves matches. This state is not a legal identity finding
primary_contact_value encrypted string	Nullable when a reason state records absence	Link to the answer or staff entry source and channel	Preserve the prior encrypted value and create a correction event	Authorized intake staff controls contact changes under firm policy

Campaign fields

Field and type	Allowed state or nullability	Provenance rule	Correction rule	Human owner and boundary
campaign_id UUID	Required, immutable	Generated from the approved campaign configuration event	Never repurpose an ID for another campaign	Program owner creates and retires campaigns
campaign_status enum	draft, active, paused, retired	Transition points to approval or operational decision	Append status history. Do not overwrite activation dates	Program owner controls operations. Authorized firm staff controls substantive eligibility policy
jurisdiction_scope string array	Required, may be empty only in draft	Link to the approved configuration version	New criteria version required for substantive scope changes	Firm-approved reviewer defines scope. Software only applies the recorded configuration

Criteria version fields

Field and type	Allowed state or nullability	Provenance rule	Correction rule	Human owner and boundary
criteria_version_id UUID	Required, immutable	Generated when a criteria release is created	Never edit an approved version in place	Authorized firm reviewer approves release and retirement
effective_at timestamp	Required after approval, nullable in draft	Cite the approval review and actor	A wrong time requires a superseding version or governed administrative correction	Criteria owner confirms the effective boundary
approved_by_user_id UUID	Required for active or retired versions	Points to the review agent and approval activity	Cannot be reassigned. A replacement approval creates a new review	Only a person with delegated firm authority may approve criteria

Answer fields

Field and type	Allowed state or nullability	Provenance rule	Correction rule	Human owner and boundary
answer_id UUID	Required, immutable	Generated for one question, claimant, submission, and criteria version	A later response creates a revision linked to the original	Intake staff may reconcile duplicate submissions without deleting either answer
response_state enum	unanswered, unknown, reported, declined, not_applicable	Record who was asked, channel, question version, and time	New state event must state why the prior state changed	Follow-up owner may request clarification. Only firm policy defines when an answer is required
response_value typed JSON	Required for reported, otherwise null	Link to the submission source and question definition	Create a revision with prior value, new value, reason, and actor	Reviewer checks format and consistency. A value alone cannot establish a legal fact

Fact fields

Field and type	Allowed state or nullability	Provenance rule	Correction rule	Human owner and boundary
fact_id UUID	Required, immutable across revisions	First revision identifies its generating answer, evidence, or review activity	Later values receive new revision IDs linked by wasRevisionOf semantics	Assigned reviewer owns acceptance for the stated intake purpose
fact_state enum	proposed, disputed, reviewed, superseded	Each state cites source records and the activity that produced it	Never turn disputed into reviewed without a recorded review	Authorized reviewer resolves support. Software may only propose or flag
fact_value typed JSON	Required except when the fact definition permits explicit unknown	Link every value to one or more source IDs and extraction location when applicable	Approved correction creates a new revision and supersedes the old one	Human reviewer decides whether source support is sufficient for intake use

Evidence fields

Field and type	Allowed state or nullability	Provenance rule	Correction rule	Human owner and boundary
evidence_id UUID	Required, immutable	Generated at receipt and linked to source event and claimant	Do not replace bytes under the same ID. A new file receives a new ID	Evidence queue owner may relate versions but not rewrite originals
content_digest SHA-256 string	Required after bytes are received	Calculated from the retained original file	A mismatch opens an integrity exception. It is not manually edited	System computes the digest. Security or records staff investigates mismatches
classification_state enum	received, unreadable, proposed, classified, rejected	Cite classifier version or human review and relevant page range	Reclassification appends a new activity and preserves the prior label	Evidence reviewer owns final intake classification, not the extraction process

Source fields

Field and type	Allowed state or nullability	Provenance rule	Correction rule	Human owner and boundary
source_id UUID	Required, immutable	Generated for each upload, interview, import, staff entry, or system event	Never merge distinct receipt events	Intake operations resolves uncertain attribution while preserving original events
source_type enum	claimant_submission, third_party_submission, document, staff_entry, system_derivation	Cite channel, actor, and originating system where applicable	Type correction requires reason and an append-only revision	Source owner classifies origin. Type does not determine truth or legal weight
captured_at timestamp	Required	Taken from receipt infrastructure, with sender-reported time stored separately	Administrative correction preserves both reported and system times	Records owner resolves clock or import issues

The W3C PROV Ontology supplies relations for generation, derivation, attribution, and revision. They map to foreign keys or event tables.

Correction fields

Field and type	Allowed state or nullability	Provenance rule	Correction rule	Human owner and boundary
correction_id UUID	Required, immutable	Links target record, proposer, source, and correction activity	The correction record itself is append-only	Named reviewer owns disposition
proposed_value typed JSON	Required unless proposal is deletion under policy	Cite supporting source and the exact prior revision	A changed proposal becomes a new correction linked to the prior one	Proposer may suggest. Proposer cannot approve without permitted authority
correction_disposition enum	pending, approved, rejected, withdrawn	Approval or rejection identifies reviewer, time, and rationale	Disposition cannot be silently reset. Reconsideration creates a new review	Authorized reviewer approves or rejects. System only routes and records

Review fields

Field and type	Allowed state or nullability	Provenance rule	Correction rule	Human owner and boundary
review_id UUID	Required, immutable	Identifies reviewer, input record set, purpose, and criteria version	A second review gets a new ID	Assigned human reviewer is accountable for the recorded outcome
review_outcome enum	pending, needs_information, accepted_for_intake, escalated, not_advanced	Cite the facts, evidence, exceptions, and policy version considered	Outcome changes through a new review, not an overwrite	Firm defines outcome authority. No outcome itself creates representation
completed_at timestamp	Nullable while pending, required otherwise	Generated when the reviewer submits the outcome	Incorrect metadata is corrected through an administrative event	Review supervisor controls reopen policy

Exception fields

Field and type	Allowed state or nullability	Provenance rule	Correction rule	Human owner and boundary
exception_id UUID	Required, immutable	Links triggering rule or person, affected records, and criteria version	Duplicate exceptions may be related, never erased	Queue owner confirms scope and priority
exception_state enum	open, assigned, resolved, escalated, closed_no_action	Every transition identifies actor, reason, and supporting record	Reopened work creates a transition with the prior disposition visible	Assigned person owns resolution. Legal questions escalate to authorized firm staff
owner_user_id UUID	Nullable only while open and awaiting assignment	Assignment event records assigner and time	Reassignment appends history and reason	Operations supervisor owns queue assignment, not the substantive decision

Consent fields

Field and type	Allowed state or nullability	Provenance rule	Correction rule	Human owner and boundary
consent_id UUID	Required, immutable	Links claimant, consent text version, channel, response, and capture time	Never reuse for a later consent event	Firm policy owner defines required records and permitted use
consent_response enum	accepted, declined, withdrawn	Preserve the affirmative action or authorized staff record	Withdrawal creates a new event linked to the earlier acceptance	Authorized staff handles exceptions. System must not infer consent from silence
consent_text_version string	Required	Points to the exact approved text displayed or read	Text changes require a new version and new event where policy requires	Firm counsel or designated policy owner approves text

Matter handoff fields

Field and type	Allowed state or nullability	Provenance rule	Correction rule	Human owner and boundary
handoff_id UUID	Required, immutable	Links claimant, destination, package version, approver, and delivery activity	Failed attempts remain distinct events	Authorized firm staff approves release. Receiving owner accepts custody
package_version string	Required, immutable after approval	Resolves to the exact fact revisions, evidence digests, reviews, consents, and open exceptions included	Any content change creates a new package version	Handoff owner verifies completeness, not legal merit
delivery_state enum	prepared, approved, sent, acknowledged, failed, revoked	Each state cites delivery event, actor or system, time, and destination response	Retry or revocation appends an event. Never relabel a failed attempt as sent	Integration owner resolves transport. Authorized staff controls approval and revocation

Implement the dictionary as a versioned contract

Store the dictionary in source control or a governed schema registry. Give each release a dictionary_version, publication time, reviewer, and change summary. Renames, type changes, enum removals, and changed nullability require a migration plan and new version.

Tie database columns, API payloads, form questions, exports, and analytics mappings to dictionary field IDs. Display labels may change without renaming stored fields. Campaign extensions need documented namespaces and cannot redefine core fields.

Validate unknown answers, duplicate claimants, disputed facts, unreadable evidence, rejected corrections, withdrawn consent, criteria changes, and failed handoffs. Confirm every revision retains its source and responsible actor.

The W3C Data Quality Vocabulary distinguishes quality dimensions, metrics, measurements, policies, and annotations. Apply that separation in mass tort intake quality assurance. A quality measurement may describe completeness or consistency. It must not become an automatic legal conclusion.

Minimum release checklist

1. Every stored field maps to one published dictionary definition.
2. Every nullable field distinguishes absence from unknown, declined, and unanswered states.
3. Every derived or corrected value points to its source, activity, and responsible actor.
4. Every criteria result identifies the criteria version used.
5. Every human decision names its authorized owner and the inputs reviewed.
6. Every handoff freezes the exact record revisions delivered.

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A governed dictionary makes the general legal intake record portable without ambiguity. Stable fields, explicit states, provenance, and append-only corrections preserve what changed. Human ownership keeps qualification, engagement, and legal judgment with the firm.