Scheduling a consultation with a personal injury attorney is a big step toward gaining compensation for you or your loved one. However, to make the most of your meeting, there are a few items you should organize and bring for the attorney to review.

What to bring to an initial consultation

A narrative of events: If you have not already written down everything describing the event that left you or a loved one injured, do so before you meet with an attorney. A written narrative will help you keep your thoughts organized and help ensure you do not leave out important details. If possible, include relevant dates, times, addresses and names. The more specific your narrative is, the better.

Copies of all forms relevant to the injury:

• Incident or accident reports
• Drivers’ licenses
• Contact information of everyone involved
• Medical paperwork and bills
• Records of lost wages or missed work days
• Insurance policies

Copies of correspondence: Anything you have about your personal injury in writing can be helpful for your case. For example, if you were emailing your insurance company about the injury, bring email copies to the consultation. Informal means of communication, like text messages with a supervisor about missing work or even with a friend about the pain you’re experiencing, can help a lawyer gain more insight into your situation.

A list of questions: Take some time before your meeting to sit with a pen and paper away from distractions and jot down every concern that comes to mind. Once you’re done, reform your thoughts into a list questions for your meeting. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• How many personal injury clients have you represented?
• What is your communication process?
• What steps do I need to take to help us reach a successful outcome?
• Do you think an expert witness would help in my case? Would you be able to contact one?
• Does the statute of limitations apply to my case?
• Would you be handling my case or would there be a team to support me?

A personal injury attorney should never charge you for an initial meeting. You both should be taking this time to get to know each other and learn more about how you could work together. To see if our experienced team of professionals is right to represent you or your loved one, contact us to set up a no-cost consultation.

The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based upon advertisements alone.