In preparation for an initial meeting with your attorney, there is some information you should bring with you; this information will be very important in order to begin the process of attempting to reach a possible settlement for the damages you may have suffered. The information you provide will help your attorney evaluate the case.
There’s no need to memorize this info; on the contrary, merely having it written down on paper is recommended. These forms, etc., give your attorney background knowledge of what happened and helps them understand your damages.
For example, you will need to tell your attorney the following for a car accident: the date of the accident, where it occurred, the weather on the day of, a description of events, who was in the car with you and their name and contact information, any possible witnesses and their information, who was injured and a description of their injuries as well as you injuries, if medical treatment was received and the name and location of the hospitals and doctors that treated you, the name of any police officers on the scene, the police report number, lost wages due to an inability to work from the accident, and any information about the other driver (name, contact information, insurance).
Along with that information, you should also bring certain items with you to the meeting. For example, make sure to bring the following: a copy of the police report, any pictures of the scene, vehicles, or injuries, copies of checks or payroll records showing a wage loss, copy of you insurance card or papers, any letters or documents you have received from any insurance company, letters from Medicaid or Medicare, medical records for treatments received due to the accident, any medical bills received from treatment, and any letters reflecting a lien due to medical treatment.
After you have first met with your attorney, the attorney will begin closely evaluating your case. Commonly, the first step the attorney makes is to obtain the copies of your medical records; your medical records show the injuries received as a result of the accident and the value of your case depends heavily on the severity and type of injury. It can take hospitals and doctors offices a while to provide copies of your medical records, so the attorney must wait on them.
The attorney will want to obtain a copy of the police report because the report will provide pertinent information regarding the cause of the accident, as well as how it happened. Sometimes the police report may also assign fault to the driver who caused the accident. In a small number of cases, the driver at fault will received a ticket for reckless driving or for causing the accident.
