| Meeting
With Your Lawyer
There are many things you need to do to prepare to meet with
your lawyer. In a personal injury case, it is important to gather
all of the written documentation supporting your claim. Without
the proper documentation, it will be difficult for your attorney
to evaluate the merits and value of your case. Moreover, during
your first meeting, your lawyer will likely ask many questions
which can be answered by existing documentation.
Ultimately, as the person bringing a claim for personal injury,
you have the burden of proving each element of your case.
This includes both the liability and damage aspects of the
case. Most cases are proven with a combination of testimony
and written evidence. Thus, it is important to gather all
of the available written evidence as early in the case as
possible. This will help avoid the loss or destruction of
valuable evidence which supports your case.
Automobile Accident Cases
If the case involves an automobile accident, there are
several pieces of written evidence which your attorney will
need to prove the case. First, if you have obtained a copy
of the police report, you should bring it to your first meeting.
Although the police report itself may not ultimately be admissible
as evidence (hearsay), it contains valuable information for
preparing the claim, including the names and addresses of
all persons involved in the accident, the date, time and location
of the accident, and the identity of the parties' insurance
companies and policy numbers. It also contains a description
of how the accident occurred and the investigating police
officer's allocation of fault for the accident.
If you do not have a copy of the police report, it will usually
suffice to bring the item number. The item number is a number
given by the investigating police officer to the parties involved
in the accident. It is a number which references the police
report when it is completed.
In addition to the accident report or item number you should
also locate and bring a copy of your own insurance policy.
This will help your lawyer determine what coverages you have
which may be applicable to your claim. If you were injured
in the automobile accident and got medical help, you should
also bring any medical records or bills to your first meeting.
If you do not have such records you should at least obtain
the names of the treating healthcare providers along with
the dates of treatment.
Bring your driver's license number and social security number.
These are important references which your lawyer will need
in your case. If you lost any wages or time from work, you
should also bring all documentation supporting a potential
wage loss claim, including, without limitation, your tax returns
for the past three years, W-2 forms, pay check stubs or other
earnings records.
Finally, you should bring a list of all witnesses' names,
addresses, and phone numbers who can help you prove your claim.
This includes not only witnesses who may have seen the accident,
but also witnesses who can document your wage losses and pain
and suffering.
Medical Malpractice Claims
In medical malpractice claims, the most important records
to bring to your meeting with your lawyer are the medical
records involving the treatment you are claiming was negligent.
Your attorney simply cannot properly evaluate a medical malpractice
claim without the medical records. Of course, you will also
need to bring any wage loss records or other written documentation
supporting your claim. Other documentation may include a journal
or diary which contemporaneously documented the treatment
as it occurred. If your claim involved imaging studies like
x-rays or MRI's, you should also bring the films to the meeting.
Most lawyers also like a written summary or chronology outlining
the claim you wish to make against the healthcare provider.
Include the names and addresses of all healthcare providers
you claim were negligent.
Premises Cases
Like automobile and medical malpractice claims, documents
like accident reports, wage loss information and medical records
are important to bring to the meeting with your lawyer. However,
it is also important to bring pictures of the particular property
you allege was defective and caused your injury. This will
assist your lawyer in evaluating the defective nature of the
property hazard.
Products Liability Cases
In addition to the items listed above under the other
categories, you may also want to consider bringing the defective
product to the meeting with your lawyer if you have it. A
picture will suffice if you do not have custody of the defective
product. Product information including brochures, warnings
or user guidebooks are also important items to give to your
lawyer.
Conclusion
In sum, regardless of the type of case involved, you should
bring every piece of written documentation which could possibly
prove relevant to your case. It is always better to have more
information than is needed than to be lacking in vital information.
Before you meet with your lawyer, try to organize the information
in some fashion that is easy to present. It will help the
lawyer more quickly evaluate the information and may prevent
it from getting buried in a mass of other documentation.
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