Documents and AI
Deleting a document, or not
What can be deleted, what should be, and what must not.
Deleting looks like the obvious fix when something is wrong, and it almost never is. Before doing it, work out which of the three cases you are in, because only one of them calls for deletion.
| Situation | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You uploaded the wrong file | Delete it and upload the right one | It proves nothing and should not be there |
| The document is expired or superseded | Upload the new version over it | The previous one shows what was valid then |
| The extracted value is wrong, the paper is right | Correct the value, leave the document alone | There is nothing wrong with the document |
What must not be deleted
- Anything connected to an open claim or litigation.
- Documents that are part of a signature: the signature covers them.
- Whatever you are obliged to retain, even if you no longer need it.
Important
If there are open proceedings touching a document, do not delete it even if it seems irrelevant. Every deletion is logged with its date, and one made after a claim starts always reads in the worst possible way, however innocent.
What is worth deleting
What you should not hold: ID copies requested without needing them, personal data from processes that ended years ago, third-party documents that arrived by mistake. Keeping too much is not prudence, it is accumulated risk.
Watch out
Before deleting something someone else uploaded, ask them. It may be there for a reason you cannot see, and recovery is not always possible.
Worth knowing
If you hesitate between deleting and keeping, ask whether the document proves anything. The ones that prove stay; the ones that merely occupy space go.
›Can deleted items be recovered?
It depends on your retention settings. Do not count on it.
›Is there a record of who deleted it?
Yes, with the date.
›Does deleting free space or credits?
Credits already consumed do not come back.
A real case
The situation
Someone wants to delete a supplier's old insurance policies "to tidy up".
What you do
- Checks they prove each year's cover
- Keeps them as previous versions
What you get
Months later a two-year-old claim is closed by showing the policy in force on that day.
The situation
A document is deleted and disappears from a file.
What you do
- Checks where it is referenced before deleting
What you get
Deleting breaks nothing.
The situation
A duplicate is deleted and it was the good one.
What you do
- Checks which one sits in the right file
What you get
The useful one remains.
The situation
Something that had to be retained is deleted.
What you do
- Checks the policy before deleting
What you get
Deleting stops being a gamble.
The situation
Deletion happens and there is no record of it.
What you do
- Records what was deleted and when
What you get
What was done is demonstrable.
The situation
It is archived rather than deleted and lost from view.
What you do
- Decides between archiving and deleting per case
What you get
The archive stays readable.
This article answers
- how do i delete a document uploaded by mistake
- can i remove a file
- remove a document from a case
- recover a deleted document