Harrell & Harrell’s recommendation: Bring notes on the accident, a list of your questions, and any available documents like the accident report, insurance details, or medical records. Do not stress over gathering everything; your attorney will collect most evidence later.
When you’re preparing for your free consultation with one of our Jacksonville personal injury lawyers, you may be wondering what you should bring with you. While there’s a lot of information you could bring in that might be helpful for our initial conversation, you shouldn’t let this become a source of stress.
Remember that your initial consultation is just a starting point. Your personal injury lawyer will need a lot of information and evidence, but they don’t need it all the first time you meet. In fact, when you hire the injury attorneys at Harrell & Harrell, we’ll take responsibility for gathering most of the evidence. To learn more about how we will build the strongest possible case on your behalf, call us today at (904) 251-1111.
Information That May Be Helpful at Your Free Consultation
Some information you may have on hand that may be helpful at your initial consultation includes:
- The accident report or incident report
- The other party’s insurance information
- Any letters or messages you have received from the other party’s insurer
- Your own insurance information
- Any diagnosis you may have received
- Any off-work orders or work restrictions from a physician
- Photos or video from the accident scene
- Medical bills and records of any other accident-related costs
The more information you have, the better able the personal injury lawyer will be to give you a preliminary assessment of your case. But not a single thing on this list is critical. The very last thing you should do is to get bogged down or overwhelmed by gathering paperwork or evidence and delay getting the help you need.
What Happens if I Don’t Have My Paperwork Together Before Consulting a Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer?
In most situations, the personal injury lawyer will tell you during your initial consultation whether they believe they can help you and are interested in taking on your case. If you retain the attorney, they may use the documents you brought to the consultation as a starting point. But the right personal injury attorney won’t rely on what’s been handed to them. They will talk to the other party’s insurance company, seek out and speak with witnesses, obtain any relevant security footage or similar evidence, perhaps hire an expert witness to examine the scene or the vehicles to determine how the accident occurred and more.
If there is information or evidence they need directly from you, they will tell you exactly what they need. More often, they will simply get your authorization to collect information directly. For example, your injury lawyer will typically ask you to sign medical releases so they can collect your medical records and your accident-related medical bills and speak with your doctors.
Occasionally, a personal injury lawyer may need some additional information to determine whether they will take on your case. When that happens, they will either tell you exactly what additional information they will need from you or, more often, find that information themselves and get back to you.
Preparing for Your Consultation with a Personal Injury Attorney
Though you don’t need to do a lot of homework for your initial consultation, there are two things you can do to help your consultation go smoothly and ensure that you don’t forget anything important while you’re speaking with the attorney.
Write Down Information about the Accident
When you consult a personal injury attorney, one thing they will do is ask you to explain how you got hurt. Right after a car accident or other traumatic event, you might feel like you’ll never forget a single detail. It’s not true, though. You should write down your recollections as soon as possible after the event and bring those notes with you when you consult your attorney.
Even if your memory is fresh, it’s easy for some details to get lost as the attorney asks follow-up questions and the conversation takes turns. Having notes to refer to will help ensure that doesn’t happen.
Write Down Your Questions for the Personal Injury Lawyer
If you’re like most people who have been injured in an accident, you have a lot of questions. Some of them are probably weighing on your mind every day, while others may pop into your head at random moments. Your initial consultation with a Jacksonville personal injury lawyer is your opportunity to get those questions answered.
It pays to be prepared. You’ll be taking in a lot of information and may be asked to answer a lot of questions. In other words, you and the attorney will be covering a lot of ground in a relatively short time. You don’t want to walk out the door at the end of your consultation and realize in the car on the way home that you forgot to ask something important.
If you bring a list of questions, you can refer to the list during your consultation and double-check at the end to make sure you’ve discussed everything that was important to you.
The Personal Injury Lawyers at Harrell & Harrell Work for You
In an injury case, there may be some information that has to come directly from you. For example, you’re the only one who can relate your experience before, during, and after the injury. If the case reaches the discovery stage, there will be questions you must answer under oath and documents and other items you must provide.
For the most part, though, your Harrell & Harrell personal injury lawyer will take charge of the case, drive the investigation, take over communications with the insurance company, and generally manage the legal issues so that you can focus on your recovery.
We know how important it is for you to get knowledgeable guidance soon after an accident. We also know how stressful that time can be, and how daunting the process may be. We want to remove as many obstacles as possible so you can get the help you need. Schedule your free consultation now by calling (904) 251-1111 or filling out our contact form. Bring us what you have on hand, and we’ll work with you from there.