Top 17 Facts To Give Your Attorney At Your First Consultation

If you’ve been injured in an accident, you’re probably shaken up, dealing with injuries and medical bills, and suffering financially from missed income from work. Hopefully, you’ve made the decision to find an experienced car wreck attorney to help you with your case. A good legal team on your side will protect your rights, ensure everything in your case is done in a timely manner, and help you prepare your case in order to maximize your settlement or judgment. In my over 20 years of helping people recover from their accidents, I’ve learned what the key facts I are that I need from them during our first consultation. I’ve listed them below to help you prepare before your meeting with an attorney if you or a loved ones are ever injured in an accident in Tennessee involving a car, truck or motorcycle:

  1. Your pertinent personal information (name, address, phone numbers, email address, SSN)
  2. Are you married? (if yes, name of spouse). Do you have any children? Ages? Do they live with you?
  3. Are you employed? (if yes, name of employer, how long employed, and income)
  4. Description of your accident (what do you remember leading up to, during, and immediately after the accident?)
  5. Description of your injuries and those of any passengers:
  6. Where did the accident occur?
  7. Were there any passengers? If so, who were they?
  8. Who owned the car that you were in when the accident occurred? What were the damages to it? (pictures are always helpful)
  9. Information on any of the following who provided you aid or medical treatment: Ambulance, Emergency Room Doctors, Surgeons, After-care Doctors, physical therapist:
  10. Overview of treatment provided for injures? Are you finished receiving medical treatment for your injury? Did you have surgery? Do you anticipate requiring future treatment?
  11. What are your medical bills? Do you have insurance? If so, please provide carrier and policy number:
  12. Did you lose wages? If yes, how much? How many days of work did you miss due to the accident and initial injury and subsequent doctors or therapy visits?
  13. Were you injured previous to the accident? Have you been injured since the accident?
  14. What are your limitations after the accident (can you still work? enjoy your hobbies?)
  15. Police Report and any reports filed regarding the accident including any media coverage:
  16. Were there any witnesses? If yes, what are their names, phone numbers and addresses?
  17. Do you have a criminal history? If yes, when and for what were the charges?

When my clients come in for their first meeting, we sit down with them and ask for the above information and spend as much time with them as needed to get the entire picture of the event that brought them to us.  We then request medical records and police reports and begin conducting a thorough investigation.  This background information enables us to have the best possible position to either 1) negotiate a fair settlement with the opposing side or, if that’s not possible, 2) take our client’s case to court in front of a jury.  We aren’t scared to fight for our clients and the more information we have to protect their rights and enable their recovery – the better for us and them. Nothing beats preparedness and nothing beats an insurance company except a serious and experienced trial attorney.