diff --git a/frontend/.env.example b/frontend/.env.example
index 22273ec..63121ca 100644
--- a/frontend/.env.example
+++ b/frontend/.env.example
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 # Copy this file to .env and fill in your values
 
 # API Configuration
-VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:8000
+# IMPORTANT: Must include /api/v1 path to properly connect to backend
+VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:8000/api/v1
 
 # App Version (for Sentry releases)
 VITE_APP_VERSION=1.0.0
diff --git a/frontend/CASES_PAGE_FIX.md b/frontend/CASES_PAGE_FIX.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4a92180
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/CASES_PAGE_FIX.md
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+# Cases Page Launch Issue Fix
+
+## Problem
+The cases page was failing to launch because API calls were not reaching the backend server.
+
+## Root Cause
+The `apiRequest` function in `src/lib/api.ts` was not prepending the base API URL to relative URLs. This caused requests like `/cases?page=1` to be sent to the frontend server (http://localhost:5173) instead of the backend API server (http://localhost:8000/api/v1).
+
+## Solution
+1. **Updated `apiRequest` function** to prepend `VITE_API_URL` for relative URLs
+2. **Updated `.env.example`** to show correct API URL including `/api/v1` path
+
+## Setup Instructions
+
+### 1. Create .env file
+```bash
+cp .env.example .env
+```
+
+### 2. Verify API URL in .env
+```env
+VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:8000/api/v1
+```
+
+**Important:** The `/api/v1` path is required. Do not use just `http://localhost:8000`.
+
+### 3. Start servers
+```bash
+# Terminal 1 - Backend
+cd backend
+# ... start backend server on port 8000
+
+# Terminal 2 - Frontend  
+cd frontend
+npm install
+npm run dev
+```
+
+### 4. Test
+Navigate to http://localhost:5173/cases - the page should now load successfully and fetch case data from the backend.
+
+## Files Changed
+- `src/lib/api.ts` - Fixed `apiRequest` to prepend BASE_URL
+- `.env.example` - Updated with correct API URL
+
+## Affected Components
+This fix resolves API issues for ALL components using `apiRequest`:
+- CaseList, CaseDetail
+- Forensics, FinalSummary, Ingestion, AdjudicationQueue
+- All adjudication components
+- Evidence API
+- And more...
+
+## Production Deployment
+For production, update `VITE_API_URL` to point to your production API server:
+```env
+VITE_API_URL=https://api.your-domain.com/api/v1
+```
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/api.ts b/frontend/src/lib/api.ts
index 642aa2f..3d7b7ab 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/api.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/api.ts
@@ -25,6 +25,10 @@ export async function apiRequest<T = any>(
 ): Promise<T> {
   const method = options?.method?.toUpperCase() || 'GET';
 
+  // Prepend base URL if URL is relative
+  const BASE_URL = import.meta.env.VITE_API_URL || '/api/v1';
+  const fullUrl = url.startsWith('http') ? url : `${BASE_URL}${url}`;
+
   // Prepare headers
   const headers = new Headers(options?.headers);
   if (!headers.has('Content-Type')) {
@@ -66,7 +70,7 @@ export async function apiRequest<T = any>(
     requestOptions.body = options.body;
   }
 
-  const response = await fetch(url, requestOptions);
+  const response = await fetch(fullUrl, requestOptions);
 
   if (!response.ok) {
     await response.text().catch(() => 'Unknown error');
diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/CaseDetail.tsx b/frontend/src/pages/CaseDetail.tsx
index f2fd376..90b73ac 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/CaseDetail.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/CaseDetail.tsx
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ interface PredictiveResponse {
 
   const { data: aiRiskPrediction, isLoading: predictionLoading } = useQuery({
     queryKey: ['case', id, 'ai-risk-prediction'],
-    queryFn: () => apiRequest<PredictiveResponse>(`/cases/${id}/ai-risk-prediction`),
+    queryFn: () => apiRequest<PredictiveResponse>(`/cases/${id}/ai-risk-prediction`, { method: 'POST' }),
     retry: false,
     enabled: !!id,
   });
diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/CaseList.tsx b/frontend/src/pages/CaseList.tsx
index fb63c64..b772760 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/CaseList.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/CaseList.tsx
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ export function CaseList() {
       else if (riskFilter === 'low') params.append('max_risk', '39');
     }
 
-    return apiRequest<CaseListResponse>('/cases/?' + params.toString());
+    return apiRequest<CaseListResponse>(`/cases?${params.toString()}`);
   };
 
   const { data, isLoading, error, refetch } = useQuery({