Preparing for a First Consultation with a Personal Injury Lawyer

When you first consult a personal injury attorney for help with a potential claim, it’s good to be prepared.

Knowing what questions to ask and what types of information to provide will ensure you get the most out of your first consultation. It will also help the attorney assess the validity and potential value of your claim and determine the best way forward.

Questions to ask a personal injury attorney

An initial consultation isn’t only for presenting the facts of your personal injury to an attorney. It’s also a chance for you to determine whether the attorney is someone you feel comfortable trusting with your case, and to get some basic information about what the claim process might involve.

It’s a good idea to prepare a list of the questions you want to ask beforehand.

Some examples of useful questions to ask a personal injury lawyer during an initial consultation are:

• Do you specialise in personal injury claims?
• How many personal injury cases have you handled? How long have you been practising personal injury law?
• Have you handled cases involving the specific type of accident/injury involved in my case? If so, how many and were they successful?
• Are you a member of any law societies?
• Could you give me any references or testimonials?
• If I hire you, will you be the only attorney working on my case?
• Do you have access to investigators and medical experts who’d help with my case?
• What fees do you charge and when are they payable?
• Does my claim have a good chance of succeeding?
• Can you give me any idea what settlement I could expect if my claim succeeds?
• How long could a claim like mine take to be resolved?
• Who can I contact if I have questions (and how)?
• Is there any other information you need about my case right now?
• What should I expect next?

Information to provide about your personal injury claim

To assess your claim, the attorney will need a clear picture of what caused your injuries, the circumstances surrounding the incident and the impact that the injuries are having on your life, physically, psychologically and financially.

The clearer and more comprehensive your answers, the better.

Before the consultation, aim to gather your thoughts and prepare the information you need to answer questions such as these:

• Can you describe exactly when and how you were injured? What happened?
• What medical treatment have you had, and how have you paid for it?
• Are you taking prescription medication as a result of your injuries?
• What is the long-term prognosis for your injuries?
• Has your injury resulted directly in you losing income from your work? If so, how much money and how many work hours have you lost? Do you expect to lose income in the future, and for how long?
• How have your injuries affected your day-to-day quality of life? Can you give examples?
• Have you spoken to anybody about the accident or incident that caused your injuries? If so, who did you speak to and what did you say?

Documents to take with you

Certain documents are needed or useful for supporting a personal injury claim, and a personal injury attorney will want to see these and possibly have copies made.

Among the documents it’s a good idea to take to a consultation with a personal injury lawyer are:

• medical records describing the nature of your injuries, their treatment and your prognosis
• medical and other bills you’ve had to pay as a direct result of your injury
• if you were injured in a motor vehicle accident, a copy of the completed Accident Report (AR) Form
• contact details for your insurance and medical care providers, including the ambulance service, hospital and medical practitioners entrusted with your care following the incident
• copies of written witness statements and contact details for any witnesses
• correspondence relating to the incident that caused your injury/injuries
• any photographs or videos that help show what occurred and could support your claim
• proof of your income prior to the incident and any immediate losses suffered thereafter.